Hartalika Teej 2026 in USA: Sun, Sep 13 — Puja Time by City

How the Hartalika Teej date is decided

The tithi prevailing at local sunrise (Udaya tithi).

Significance

The rule of the waterless fast — not even water day and night (some traditions allow achaman); once kept it must be kept every year (giving it up is considered inauspicious — if ill, have someone else complete it/or keep it with fruit); so the first vrat is taken with thought. Parvati did this very penance.

The puja is mainly in the evening/Pradosh and then in all four prahars of the night — hand-made images of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha in clay/sand/black soil ('parthiv'), the phulera (a canopy of flowers), the 16 suhag items; the katha three times; the next morning the images are immersed and the paran done.

'Teeja' in Chhattisgarh — daughters are called to their parents' home, 'karu bhaat' (bitter gourd with rice) a day earlier; a new bride's first Teej at her parents' home in Bihar-UP; the one-night puja of 'Hartalika' in Maharashtra; the three-day 'Teej' of Nepal — dar, waterless fast, Rishi Panchami.

Puja vidhi (brief)

1. Dwitiya (a day earlier): a full sattvik meal in the evening/night — like 'sargi/dar/karu bhaat' (bitter gourd and rice in Chhattisgarh, dahi-chura and fruit in Bihar, the 'dar' feast in Nepal); mehndi; nothing after midnight.
2. Tritiya: bathe before sunrise, sankalp — 'I keep the waterless Hartalika Teej vrat for unbroken good fortune/the husband of my choice, and will do paran after sunrise tomorrow'; solah shringar, red/green saree, new bangles, sindoor; no water during the day, rest and bhajans, speak little.
3. Preparation in the day: the phulera — banana stems and a canopy of flowers and leaves over a bamboo/wooden seat; hand-made small images of Shiva, Parvati (Gauri), Ganesha and (in many homes) Riddhi-Siddhi in clay/black soil/sand (or clay ones from the market); installed on banana leaves; kalash.
4. Pradosh puja (after sunset — time above — the first prahar): Ganesha puja; water, milk, bel leaves, datura, bhasma and white flowers for Shiva; the 16 suhag items for Parvati (bangles, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, kajal, comb, mirror, chunari, toe-rings, alta, perfume, garland…); 'Om Umamaheshwarabhyam Namah'; the Hartalika vrat katha (below) — 3 times/every prahar; the aarti 'Jai Parvati Mata'.
5. Puja in four prahars (about 9 pm, 12, 3 am): in each prahar flowers and akshat on the images, a new lamp, mantra, aarti; bhajans and songs in between (the folk songs of Teej), the collective vigil of friends and married women; no sleeping.
6. Bayana: after the puja suhag items, sweets, fruit and dakshina to the mother-in-law/elder sister-in-law — touching her feet; girls take the blessings of the older married women.
7. Chaturthi morning (after sunrise): the final puja and aarti, the sindoor offered to Parvati into your own parting, immersion of the images and puja material (river/pond or a pot/water vessel at home), taking down the phulera; then paran — first the puja water/Tulsi water, dahi-chura/fruit, then a meal (in many homes the paran from the husband's hand).
8. A new bride's first Teej at her parents' home (Bihar-UP-Chhattisgarh) or at the in-laws' with the mother-in-law — by custom; a vrat once begun every year; if ill/pregnant, with fruit and water or the puja by another woman of the house — the spirit stays unbroken.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hartalika Teej 2026 on the same day in USA and India?

No. India: Monday, September 14, 2026; New York (USA): Sunday, September 13, 2026. The tithi is judged at the local deciding moment, which falls on a different calendar day here.

What is the puja time for Hartalika Teej 2026 in New York?

Purvahna (morning) Puja time: 6:35 AM to 11:36 AM (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).

What is the difference between Hartalika and Hariyali Teej?

Hariyali Teej is Shravana Shukla Tritiya (Sawan — green bangles, swings, celebration, fruit); Hartalika is Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya (a month later — 24 hours waterless, night vigil, clay images, the strictest); Kajari Teej in between (Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya).

Really not even water?

The scriptural rule is waterless (achaman allowed by family custom); from sunrise to the next sunrise. It is strict — only healthy women; the pregnant, unwell and nursing keep it with fruit and water; if health fails take water and food — the vrat is Parvati's penance, not a danger to life.

Once begun, is it compulsory every year?

In folk tradition yes — so take the first vrat thoughtfully; but if it is missed through illness/pregnancy/mourning, keep it with fruit or have another woman of the house do the puja, with udyapan later — nothing inauspicious happens, the spirit is what matters.

How to do the puja of four prahars?

Divide the night from sunset to the next sunrise into four equal parts (~3 hours) — the first prahar is Pradosh (main puja and katha), then about 9, 12 and 3 — each time flowers, akshat, lamp, mantra, aarti, katha; songs and bhajans with friends make the vigil easier; if not even one prahar is possible, the Pradosh puja and the morning puja suffice.

Daily panchang in USA

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