Sankashti Chaturthi 2026: Complete Dates List, Vrat Katha & Vidhi

The next Sankashti Chaturthi in 2026 falls on Sunday, August 2 — Gajanana Sankashti, with moonrise at approximately 9:24 PM in New Delhi. Sankashti Chaturthi is observed every month on Krishna Chaturthi (the fourth day after the full moon), dedicated to Lord Ganesha as Sankat Hara, the dispeller of obstacles. Devotees fast from sunrise until they sight the moon and offer arghya to it, then break the fast with modak prasad.

What Is Sankashti Chaturthi?

Sankashti Chaturthi (सङ्कष्टी चतुर्थी) is a monthly vrat observed on the Krishna Paksha Chaturthi — the fourth tithi of the waning moon — in every lunar month of the Hindu calendar. The word 'Sankashti' means 'liberation from sankat' (obstacles, crisis, difficulty), and the vrat is dedicated to Lord Ganesha in his form as Sankat Hara, the remover of every obstacle that stands in the way of an undertaking. Each month's Sankashti also carries its own name — for instance Gajanana Sankashti, Vikata Sankashti, or Ekadanta Sankashti — tied to the month in which it falls.

Where Vinayaka Chaturthi (Shukla Paksha) marks the auspicious start of new undertakings in the bright fortnight, Sankashti Chaturthi belongs to the dark fortnight — the time believed to hold the most active obstacles, and so the time Ganesha's intervention is most needed. The defining ritual is the wait for moonrise: devotees hold the fast through the day and only break it after sighting the moon and offering water (arghya) to it. That discipline of waiting — not the food restriction itself — is considered the heart of the vrat.

When Is Sankashti Chaturthi in 2026? (Full Date List)

Because the vrat is tied to moonrise rather than a fixed clock time, the exact date can shift by a day between cities depending on when the moon rises locally — a city where the moon rises a few minutes after midnight may observe Sankashti a day apart from a city where it rises before. The dates below are drawn from Drik Panchang's New Delhi panchang (live-checked at the time of writing) and hold for most of North India; devotees in far western or southern cities should confirm the local moonrise time before planning the fast.

Note that 2026 has thirteen Sankashti Chaturthis rather than twelve — the lunar and solar calendars drift apart across the year, producing two Sankashtis in August (Aug 2 and Aug 31) and none in a couple of other months by the solar count. This is normal and recurs every few years.

What Is Angarki Chaturthi?

When Sankashti Chaturthi falls on a Tuesday, it is called Angarki Chaturthi — combining Tuesday's rulership by Mars (Mangal) with Ganesha's obstacle-removing power. It is considered the most powerful of all the year's Sankashtis, and a single sankalpa (intention) held with full sincerity through the day is widely believed to be granted. In 2026, Angarki Chaturthi falls three times: Tuesday, January 6, Tuesday, May 5, and Tuesday, September 29.

The Sankashti Chaturthi Vrat Katha

The katha, drawn from the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, is set in the celestial court of Indra. A run of misfortunes had struck the heavens — the rains had failed, celestial fruit had withered, and even Indra's thunderbolt had dimmed. The gods debated the cause for days without an answer, until the sage Narada spoke: a sankat (crisis) had settled over the heavens, and only Ganesha, worshipped through the formal Sankashti Chaturthi vrat, could dispel it.

On Narada's instruction, the entire celestial court observed the fast on the next Krishna Chaturthi — fasting through the day, worshipping Ganesha, offering modak, and waiting for moonrise to offer arghya before eating. That very night the rains returned, the fruit bloomed again, and Indra's vajra was restored to full brilliance by morning. In gratitude, Indra declared that the Krishna Chaturthi of every month would thereafter be Sankashti Chaturthi — available to any devotee on earth who observes it with the same discipline of waiting for the moon.

How Do You Observe the Sankashti Chaturthi Vrat? (Step-by-Step Vidhi)

1. Confirm the tithi and local moonrise time for your city — use the Daanyam Panchang so the fast starts and ends at the correct hours.
2. Fast through the day, taking at most fruit, milk, or a single phalahar (fruit-only) meal. The core discipline is holding the fast until moonrise, not the strictness of the food itself.
3. Morning Ganesha puja: set up a Ganesha murti or image, offer durva grass (21 blades), red flowers, akshat (unbroken rice) and sandalwood paste, and light a ghee diya.
4. Hold your sankalpa silently — name the specific obstacle or difficulty you want Ganesha's help in dispelling, and carry that intention through the day.
5. Evening puja before moonrise: roughly an hour before local moonrise, repeat a fuller Ganesha puja with fresh durva and modak if available.
6. Sight the moon and offer arghya: when the moon rises, step outside, sight it, and pour water from a copper vessel while reciting the Ganesha mantras below.
7. Break the fast with modak prasad and a simple sattvik meal.

Sankashti Chaturthi Mantras

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ । निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥ Vakratunda Mahakaya Surya-Koti Samaprabha, Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Karyeshu Sarvada — "O Lord with the curved trunk and great body, who shines like ten million suns, please remove all obstacles, always, in every undertaking."

— Ganesha Vakratunda Mahakaya Mantra

How Is Sankashti Chaturthi Different From Vinayaka Chaturthi?

Sankashti Chaturthi is the Krishna Paksha (waning moon) Chaturthi, focused on dispelling obstacles that already exist. Vinayaka Chaturthi is its counterpart in the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon), focused on blessing the auspicious start of new undertakings — the same tithi in the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada is celebrated on a larger scale as Ganesh Chaturthi. Many devotees observe both: Sankashti monthly, and Ganesh Chaturthi as the year's major Ganesha festival.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I can't confirm the exact moonrise time for my city?

Use a location-based panchang rather than a generic national date list — moonrise for Sankashti Chaturthi can genuinely fall a day apart between cities in the same state. The Daanyam Panchang gives the moonrise time for your location so you know exactly when to break the fast.

Can pregnant women, the elderly, or those with health conditions observe a modified fast?

Yes. The moonrise-arghya discipline is considered the essential part of the vrat; the food restriction is secondary and can be relaxed to a single phalahar meal, fruit, or milk through the day if a full fast isn't advisable for health reasons.

Why does the article list thirteen Sankashti Chaturthis for 2026 instead of twelve?

The Hindu lunar calendar and the Gregorian solar calendar drift across the year, which occasionally produces two Sankashtis inside one Gregorian month (August 2026 has both Aug 2 and Aug 31) and skips others. This is a normal feature of lunar-solar reconciliation, not an error.

Is Sankashti Chaturthi the same as Sakat Chauth?

Sakat Chauth is the North Indian name specifically for the Sankashti Chaturthi that falls in the Magha month (January 6, 2026) — the most significant Sankashti of the year in North Indian tradition. Every other month's Sankashti is observed the same way but under its own monthly name.