Sankasta Chaturthi 2026 Date

About Sankasta Chaturthi

A monthly fast kept on the fourth day after every full moon, broken only when the worshipper actually sights the rising moon. When this Chaturthi falls on a Tuesday — the day of Mangal (Mars, called Angaraka) — it becomes Angarki Chaturthi, treated as the most powerful of the year, especially in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Each of the twelve monthly Sankashtis honours a different form of Ganesha and has its own Vrat Katha (fasting story). The Ashadha-month fast worships Krishnapingala Ganapati, with a tale Krishna narrates to Yudhishthira about a childless king of Mahishmati who gains a son through this vow. The Magha-month observance — the most important of the year — is called Sakat Chauth in North India, where mothers fast for their children. Note the neat opposite: on Ganesh Chaturthi in Bhadrapada one must avoid looking at the moon (the Syamantaka-jewel curse on Krishna), but on Sankashti the moon's sighting is exactly what ends the fast. Tamil Hindus call the day Sankatahara Chaturthi. The food is strict — only fruit, roots and tubers, with sabudana khichadi, potato and peanuts as the usual evening meal.