Ganesh Chaturthi 2027गणेश चतुर्थी

When is Ganesh Chaturthi?

Observed on Shukla Chaturthi, Bhadrapada month. Dates follow the Panchang for New Delhi and can differ by a day in other places — check the Panchang for your city.

What Ganesh Chaturthi means

Ganesh Chaturthi, on the fourth day of the bright half of Bhadrapada, celebrates the birth of Ganesha — the remover of obstacles, lord of beginnings and patron of learning. Families bring a clay murti of Ganesha home, invoke his presence in it (pranapratishtha), worship him as an honoured guest for one and a half, three, five, seven or ten days, and then immerse the murti in water with the cry 'Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya' — 'come back soon next year'.

The festival is as much about community as home. In 1893 Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak turned the household worship into a public festival in Pune, using the pandals to bring people together across caste and to awaken a sense of nation under British rule. Today sarvajanik mandals in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and across India hold ten days of worship, music, drama and service.

The cycle of bringing Ganesha home and letting him go is itself a teaching: the divine is welcomed with love, honoured fully, and released without clinging — and the clay returns to the earth and water from which it came. That is why the tradition, and now the law in many states, asks for murtis of natural clay rather than plaster of Paris.

The story of Ganesh Chaturthi

The Shiva Purana tells that Parvati, wanting a guard of her own, shaped a boy from the paste (ubtan) she used while bathing and gave him life. She set him at her door with orders to let no one in. When Shiva returned, the boy, not knowing him, barred the way; in the fight that followed Shiva's ganas could not defeat him, and Shiva himself struck off his head.

Parvati's grief and fury shook the worlds. To appease her, Shiva sent his ganas north to bring the head of the first creature they found; they returned with the head of an elephant, and Shiva restored the boy to life with it. He made him chief of his ganas — Ganapati — and declared that he would be worshipped first, before any other god, at the start of every rite.

Another story explains why the moon is not looked at on Ganesh Chaturthi night. When the moon laughed at Ganesha's round belly as he rode his mouse, Ganesha cursed him: whoever saw the moon on this night would be falsely accused. Even Krishna, the Puranas say, was suspected of stealing the Syamantaka jewel after seeing the Chaturthi moon, until he recovered it. Those who see the moon by mistake recite the Syamantaka verse to undo the dosha.

Ganesh Chaturthi puja vidhi, step by step

A simple Ganesh Chaturthi sthapana and puja for home. Many families invite a priest for the pranapratishtha — follow your family's tradition and number of days.

What you need

• A clay (shadu) Ganesha murti — natural clay, unpainted or with natural colours, for an eco-friendly visarjan
• A raised seat (chowki) with red or yellow cloth, a kalash with water, mango leaves and a coconut
• Durva grass (21 blades or bunches), red flowers (hibiscus), a garland, sandal paste, kumkum, akshat
• Ghee diya, incense and camphor
• Naivedya: 21 modaks (ukadiche modak), laddoos, bananas and other fruit
• A bucket or tub of water for home visarjan, if you will immerse at home

When to do the puja

Ganesh Chaturthi in 2027 falls on Saturday, 4 September. The sthapana is done in the madhyahna (midday) period, when Ganesha is believed to have been born, while Chaturthi prevails. Anant Chaturdashi, the day of the ten-day visarjan, is on 14 September. Check the Panchang for the exact muhurat in your city. See the Panchang for your city.

Steps

1. Prepare. Clean the house and the puja place, set up the chowki facing east or north, and decorate it (the makhar).
2. Sthapana. Place the murti, set the kalash beside it, take a sankalp, and invoke Ganesha with pranapratishtha mantras — or simply pray, 'Ganesha, please come and stay with us.'
3. Shodashopachara puja. Offer water, sandal, kumkum, akshat, red flowers, 21 durva, a diya and incense. Chant 'Om Gam Ganapataye Namah' and read the Ganapati Atharvashirsha.
4. Naivedya and aarti. Offer 21 modaks and fruit, and sing the aarti 'Sukhakarta Dukhaharta' or 'Jai Ganesh Deva'. Do aarti morning and evening every day of the stay.
5. Avoid the moon. Do not look at the moon on Chaturthi night. If you see it by mistake, recite the Syamantaka verse.
6. Uttarpuja and visarjan. On the last day do a final puja, ask forgiveness for any lapse, and immerse the murti — preferably in a tub at home or an artificial pond — then use the dissolved clay for plants.

Offerings & food: Modak (steamed and fried), motichoor laddoo, karanji, puran poli, durva grass

Mantras for Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi across India

Grandest in Maharashtra (Mumbai, Pune — Lalbaugcha Raja, Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati). Also big in Goa, Karnataka. 11-day celebrations in Hyderabad. In South India it is Vinayaka Chaturthi, kept at home with kozhukattai and undrallu, with public pandals now widespread.

Maharashtra

The heart of the festival: Lalbaugcha Raja and Siddhivinayak in Mumbai, and Pune's five 'manache' Ganpatis led by Kasba Ganpati, with Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati drawing vast crowds; the Anant Chaturdashi processions last through the night.

Goa and the Konkan

Chavath is the biggest family festival of the year; homes decorate a matoli canopy of fruits and forest produce above the murti.

Karnataka

Gowri Habba, the worship of Parvati, is kept the day before; Ganesha is installed in homes and public pandals, and kadubu and modaka are offered.

Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra

Vinayaka Chaturthi (Pillaiyar Chathurthi): kozhukattai and undrallu are offered at home, many temples hold special abhishekams, and public Ganesha pandals have spread widely — the Khairatabad Ganesha in Hyderabad is among India's tallest.

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and the North

Public celebrations have grown fast, with Ganesha installed in housing societies and markets; Khajrana Ganesh in Indore is a major centre.

Prayers to recite

Do’s and don’ts

Temples to visit for Ganesh Chaturthi

Siddhivinayak TempleMumbai, MaharashtraDagdusheth Halwai GanpatiPune, MaharashtraKhajrana Ganesh TempleIndore, Madhya Pradesh

Frequently asked questions