Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: Date, Madhyahna Muhurat, Sthapana Vidhi & Visarjan

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 falls on Monday, 14 September 2026. The Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi tithi runs from 07:08 AM on 14 September to 07:45 AM on 15 September, and the sthapana and puja are done in the madhyahna (midday) period, which is when Lord Ganesha is said to have been born.

Here is the complete guide: the muhurat for your city, the sthapana vidhi, the one window to avoid on this night, and the visarjan date. Every timing is computed from our own Vedic panchang — check any of it on the free daily Panchang.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: date and muhurat

⚠️ Why the 14th and not the 15th, when Chaturthi is running at sunrise on both? Because Ganesh Chaturthi is decided by the madhyahna rule, not by sunrise. Chaturthi has to be running at midday. On 14 September it is; by midday on the 15th the tithi has already become Panchami. That is the whole reason the date is the 14th.

Madhyahna puja muhurat by city

The madhyahna window is the middle portion of the day, measured from sunrise to sunset — so it moves with your longitude, not with the clock. Sthapana and the main puja are done inside it. For other cities, use the free Muhurat finder.

The moon you should not look at on this night

Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi is Kalank Chaturthi: tradition holds that seeing this particular moon brings mithya kalank, a false accusation. The story is the Syamantaka jewel — Krishna saw this moon and was accused of stealing the gem.

The moon is above the horizon on 14 September from 09:01 AM to 08:08 PM in Delhi and 08:24 AM to 07:40 PM in Patna. If you follow this custom, that is the span to avoid looking up. If you do see it, the traditional remedy is to hear or recite the Syamantaka katha.

⚠️ One region deliberately does the opposite. In Bihar’s Mithilanchal the same night is Chaurchan, when the moon is worshipped and offered arghya — and the fruit claimed is the same protection from false blame. Neither is a mistake; follow your family’s tradition.

Ganesh sthapana vidhi — how to install the murti

• Bathe, wear clean clothes and take a sankalpa naming what the puja is for and how many days the murti will stay.
• Place a clean chowki, spread a red or yellow cloth, and set a few grains of rice on it before the murti.
• Install the murti in the madhyahna window, facing east or north, and perform pran pratishtha with the Ganesha mantras below.
• Offer durva grass (a bunch of 21 blades is traditional), red flowers, sindoor, sandalwood, a ghee lamp and incense.
• Offer modak or laddu — twenty-one is the customary count — along with fruit and panchamrit.
• Read or listen to the Ganesh vrat katha, then perform the aarti. Repeat morning and evening for as long as the murti stays.
• On the final day, do the last aarti, ask forgiveness for any lapse in the rites, and take the murti for visarjan in water.

The step-by-step is in our Ganesh puja vidhi guide, with the Ganesh Chalisa and the aarti.

Ganesh Visarjan 2026

Households keep the murti for 1½, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. The ten-day observance ends on Anant Chaturdashi, Friday 25 September 2026. Whatever the count, the visarjan is done after a final aarti, and increasingly in a home tank or a designated immersion tank rather than a river — a clay murti and a controlled tank leave the water as they found it.

Mantras for Ganesh Chaturthi

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः॥

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥

ॐ एकदन्ताय विद्महे वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि।
तन्नो दन्ती प्रचोदयात्॥

Book a Ganesh Chaturthi puja for 2026

If you would rather have the sthapana and puja performed properly by pandits in your name — with sankalp, a recorded video, photographs and prasad couriered to you:

• Ganesh Chaturthi Puja — from ₹5,100
• Satyanarayan Katha Puja — from ₹3,100, commonly kept alongside when a sankalpa is completed

The full list is in the online puja store.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: FAQs

When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2026?
Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 is on Monday, 14 September. The Chaturthi tithi runs from 07:08 AM on 14 September to 07:45 AM on 15 September, and the puja is done in the madhyahna window on the 14th.

What is the sthapana muhurat for Ganesh Chaturthi 2026?
The madhyahna window: 11:03 AM to 01:31 PM in Delhi, 10:31 AM to 12:59 PM in Patna and 10:28 AM to 12:56 PM in Darbhanga. It is measured from sunrise to sunset, so it shifts with your city.

When is Ganesh Visarjan in 2026?
The ten-day observance ends on Anant Chaturdashi, Friday 25 September 2026. Shorter observances of 1½, 3, 5 or 7 days end proportionally earlier.

Why should the moon not be seen on Ganesh Chaturthi?
Tradition holds that the Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi moon brings a false accusation — the Syamantaka jewel story, in which Krishna was wrongly accused after seeing it. On 14 September 2026 the moon is up from 09:01 AM to 08:08 PM in Delhi.

Is Ganesh Chaturthi the same day as Chaurchan?
Yes, both fall on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi. In Mithilanchal the night is kept as Chaurchan, where the moon is worshipped rather than avoided.

Whether a muhurat suits you also depends on your own chart. Start with a free Kundli, get the detailed ₹49 Kundli report, or talk to an astrologer. Planning a ceremony? The free Muhurat finder ranks the days for you.

More for this day: Chaurchan Puja 2026 · Ganesh puja vidhi · Ganesh Chalisa · Ganesh aarti.

Note: dates and timings are computed from our own Vedic panchang for the cities named and follow the Purnimanta lunar month used in North India. They can differ by city and tradition — please confirm with your local panchang or a learned pandit.