Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 in USA: Mon, Sep 14 — Puja Time by City

Related days (New York)

Other cities may differ by a day; open the festival's own page for city-wise dates.

How the Ganesh Chaturthi date is decided

The day on which the tithi prevails at local midday (Madhyahna).

Significance

Ganesha is the remover of obstacles and the maker of auspiciousness — the beginning of every work; Bhadrapada Chaturthi is his birth tithi — installation at midday (the second part of the day from sunrise, roughly 11 am-1:30 pm); Lokmanya Tilak made it a public festival in 1893 (Maharashtra).

No moon-sighting that night — by Ganesha's curse the 'mithya dosha' (a false accusation); if seen, recite 'Simhah prasenam avadhit…' (the Syamantaka story); the same slander fell on Krishna. On Sankashti Chaturthi (the Krishna Chaturthi of every month) arghya is offered to the moon, not on this Chaturthi.

Rishi Panchami — worship of Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Vishwamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vasishtha (the Saptarishis) + Arundhati; a women's vrat for purification from unknowing faults during menstruation; one meal of 'unploughed' produce (sama/morhan/fruit); the datiwan bath on the third day of Teej in Nepal.

Puja vidhi (brief)

1. Preparation (a day earlier/with Hartalika): a clay (shadu) Ganesha idol (eco-friendly, no chemical paint, 1-2 feet for the home), decoration of the mandap/seat (flowers, banana stems, lights, makhar), red/yellow cloth, kalash; cleaning the house.
2. Chaturthi — the midday muhurat (Abhijit/tithi above; midday ≈ the middle part of the day): bring the idol chanting 'Ganpati Bappa Morya', face covered; install facing east/north-east; Riddhi-Siddhi (or betel nuts) to Ganapati's right; kalash-Varuna puja; prana-pratishtha — invoking life into the idol with 'Om Gam Ganapataye Namah' (a priest or the elder of the house — mantras from the book).
3. Shodashopachara puja: bath (water-panchamrit), clothes (janeu, dhoti-uparna), sindoor/red sandalwood, 21 durva blades (three/five-leaved, in pairs), shami leaves, red and yellow flowers (hibiscus-marigold), 21 modaks (or laddoos), coconut, paan-supari, lamp and incense; 'Vakratunda mahakaya…', Ganesha Atharvashirsha (if possible), the Sankatnashan Ganesha Stotra; the aarti 'Sukhkarta Dukhharta' / 'Jai Ganesh Deva'.
4. Daily (for as many days as he stays): aarti morning and evening, durva, bhog of modak/laddoo/fruit, the Atharvashirsha or 'Om Gam Ganapataye Namah' 108 times; prasad to family and neighbours; no tamasic food or quarrels while Ganapati is at home; do not leave the idol alone (someone stays at home).
5. Do not look at the moon on Chaturthi night (curtain/eyes down); if seen, recite the Syamantaka mantra 'Simhah prasenam avadhit simho Jambavata hatah, sukumaraka ma rodis tava hyesha Syamantakah'.
6. Rishi Panchami (the next day, women): a morning bath (in Nepal-Rajasthan cleaning the teeth with a datiwan/apamarga twig, a clay paste), worship of the Saptarishis and Arundhati (picture/seven betel nuts), charity of seven kinds of grain, one meal of 'unploughed' produce (sama/morhan/bhagar rice, fruit, milk); the katha (Uttanka-Vidarbha); the vrat for purification from the impurity of menstruation and the family's welfare.
7. Visarjan (on the 1½/3rd/5th/7th/10th day — dates above): the uttar-puja — aarti, coconut, dakshina, 'pudhchya varshi lavkar ya'; move the idol slightly with akshat and flowers (the sign of farewell), curd-sugar/modak alongside; elders and children together; immersion in a river/pond/artificial tank/a bucket-tub at home (clay idol) — the water then to the plants; the water and clay of the immersion with respect.
8. Anant Chaturdashi (the tenth day): the immersion procession (dhol, gulal); the Anant vrat the same day (Vishnu's 14-knot Anant thread — a separate page); Pitru Paksha from the next day.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 on the same day in USA and India?

Yes — Monday, September 14, 2026.

What is the puja time for Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 in New York?

Madhyahna Puja Muhurat: 11:36 AM to 2:07 PM (EDT). Other cities are in the table above.

Which time zone are these timings in?

Each row is in that city's own local time with daylight saving applied (Eastern Time (EST/EDT) for New York).

Why not look at the moon that night?

By Ganesha's curse, seeing the moon on the night of Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi brings a mithya-kalank (a false accusation) — the Syamantaka jewel accusation fell on Krishna; if seen by mistake, recite the mantra 'Simhah prasenam avadhit…'/the Syamantaka story. On the other Chaturthis (Sankashti) arghya is offered to the moon.

How many days to keep Ganapati?

One-and-a-half, three, five, seven or ten days (Anant Chaturdashi) — by family tradition/convenience; it is good to keep the same number every year once fixed; one-and-a-half days is the simplest for a home. All the visarjan dates are above.

Who keeps the Rishi Panchami vrat and why?

Women — for purification from unknowing faults during menstruation and gratitude to the Saptarishis; one meal of unploughed grain (sama/morhan), Saptarishi-Arundhati puja, charity; common in Nepal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and UP; men may keep it too.

How to do the visarjan at home?

A clay idol in a large tub/bucket/drum — slowly into the water after the uttar-puja; once dissolved, that clay-water into pots/the garden; if it is plaster, in the municipal artificial tank. In a river only clay, without decoration or plastic.

Daily panchang in USA

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