🧵 Anant Chaturdashi 2026
Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi — worship of Ananta (Vishnu), the Anant thread of 14 knots (men on the right hand, women on the left), a 14-year vrat; the day of Ganesh visarjan; the tale of Yudhishthira and Kaundinya; the Jain Kshamavani.
Anant Chaturdashi falls on the Chaturdashi of the Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month — ten days after Ganesh Chaturthi, one day before Pitru Paksha. On this day the 'Ananta' form of Lord Vishnu (reclining on Shesha, the infinite form) is worshipped and a turmeric-dyed silk/cotton Anant thread (dora) with 14 knots is tied on the arm — men on the right, women on the left; the vrat is prescribed for 14 consecutive years (then the udyapan).
On the same day, Ganapati visarjan in Maharashtra-Gujarat-the south (the close of the ten-day Ganeshotsav — 'Ganapati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya'), Kshamavani (Michchhami Dukkadam) in the Jain community after the close of Paryushan, the kheer-poori of 'Anant Puja' in Bihar-Nepal. Women tie the Anant thread for the family, panchamrit and the katha, 14 kinds of dishes (many homes). Below are this year's date, vidhi, samagri, katha, prasad and regional customs.
Significance — why this vrat
Ananta = the form of Vishnu without beginning or end (Sheshnag too is 'Ananta'); 14 knots = the 14 worlds (seven above, seven below) — Vishnu's protection in all the worlds for the wearer of the Anant thread; in the Agni/Bhavishya Purana Krishna prescribed this vrat to Yudhishthira for regaining the lost kingdom — freedom from hardship, debt and disease, the return of lost prosperity.
The rule of the vrat: 14 consecutive years, a new thread each year, the old one into water; if broken in between, start again; the udyapan in the 14th year — feeding 14 Brahmins, the gift of 14 items; women for the protection of husband and children and unbroken good fortune, men for lost wealth, position and health; in the tale sage Kaundinya threw away his wife Sheela's thread and lost everything — then the search for Ananta (below).
Ganesh visarjan: the Ganapati welcomed on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi is immersed on the tenth day (Chaturdashi) — the vast processions of Mumbai-Pune (Lalbaugcha Raja), dhol-tasha-gulal; the Anant Chaturdashi puja in the morning, the visarjan in the afternoon-evening; with both on one day, this day links north and west India; Pitru Paksha from the next day — hence all auspicious closings today.
Puja vidhi (step by step)
This is the household vidhi — the worship and tying of the Anant thread, the katha, 14 dishes; alongside the Ganapati visarjan where it is the custom.
- Bathe in the morning, yellow/white clothes; sankalp — 'the Anant vrat (which year) for the family's protection/the return of lost prosperity'; at the puja place a kalash with a Sheshnag (7 hoods) made of kusha grass on it or a Vishnu picture, the Anant thread (14 knots, turmeric-dyed) in front.
- The Anant thread: 14 strands of raw cotton/silk (or mauli), dyed in turmeric water with 14 knots — 'Om Anantaya Namah' at each knot; a separate one for each family member; placed before Vishnu in the puja.
- Puja: panchamrit, sandalwood-akshat, Tulsi, yellow flowers, incense-lamp to the kalash-Sheshnag/Vishnu; turmeric-kumkum-akshat-flowers to the Anant thread; naivedya — kheer-poori/14 kinds of dishes (if possible), banana, paan; the mantra — 'Ananta-samsara-mahasamudre magnam samabhyuddhara Vasudeva, Ananta-rupe viniyojayasva hy Ananta-sutraya namo namaste'; the Vishnu Sahasranama/the Anant katha (below).
- Tying the thread: after the katha, on the right hand for men, the left for women — the husband ties for the wife, the mother for the children; the previous year's thread removed into water/at a peepal; wear the thread all year or at least 14 days (household custom).
- 14 items: many homes offer 14 fruits, 14 pooris/dishes, 14 paan-supari to Ananta — then to a Brahmin/sister/aunt; feeding 14 Brahmins at the udyapan in the 14th year.
- The vrat meal: one meal, without salt (strict form) or fruit; kheer-poori after the evening aarti; a night vigil (if possible).
- Ganapati visarjan (where installed): the Anant puja in the morning, then the uttar puja of Ganapati (aarti, modak, coconut, dakshina, 'punaragamanaya cha'), a bundle of curd-rice for the journey, the procession, immersion in water (an artificial tank/a bucket at home — for the environment), the clay to a tree.
- Pitru Paksha from the next day: gather up all auspicious items today, shraddha-tarpan from tomorrow; keeping the Anant thread on is fine.
Puja samagri checklist
The Anant thread, the kusha Sheshnag, kalash, panchamrit, 14 dishes — the Anant Chaturdashi list.
- The Anant thread: raw cotton/silk cord (14 strands), turmeric (for dyeing) — or a ready Anant dora (in the market)
- Kalash, kusha grass (to make the Sheshnag) or a Vishnu/Ananta-Sheshashayi picture, mango leaves, coconut, yellow cloth
- Panchamrit (milk-curd-ghee-honey-sugar), Gangajal, Tulsi leaves, sandalwood, akshat, kumkum, turmeric, mauli
- Yellow flowers (marigold-lotus), garland, incense, lamp, ghee, camphor, aarti thali, 14 paan-supari
- Naivedya: kheer, poori, 14 kinds of dishes/fruits (if possible), banana, sweets, panjiri
- The Anant katha/Vishnu Sahasranama book, dakshina, bayana for a Brahmin/sister/aunt
- Ganapati visarjan (where the custom): modak, coconut, curd-rice, gulal, dhol, artificial tank/bucket
- Udyapan (14th year): supplies to feed 14 Brahmins, the gift of 14 items (clothes-grain-utensils)
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
Sheela, daughter of sage Sumantu, was married to sage Kaundinya; on the way after the send-off women were performing the Anant puja by a river — Sheela too tied the thread of 14 knots and kept the vrat, and Kaundinya's home filled with wealth and grain. One day Kaundinya saw the thread on Sheela's arm — 'is this sorcery?' — in anger he broke the thread and threw it in the fire; at once all prosperity was lost, poverty came.
The repentant Kaundinya wandered forest to forest in search of 'Ananta' — a mango tree (on which no bird sat), a cow and calf, a bull, two lakes, a donkey, an elephant — he asked all 'where is Ananta?'; none could say; when he fell exhausted an old Brahmin (Ananta himself) took him into a cave and showed the cosmic form — 'I am Ananta; you threw away the thread, hence the punishment; now keep the vrat 14 years'; and the answers to the questions on the way — the mango = one who does not share learning, the cow = the earth, the bull = dharma, the lakes = sisters who do not give to each other, the donkey = anger, the elephant = pride. Kaundinya and Sheela kept the vrat 14 years, prosperity returned.
The Yudhishthira tale: having lost the kingdom at dice, in exile Krishna told the Pandavas this same Anant vrat — 'worship Ananta on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi, 14 knots, 14 years — the lost kingdom will return'; the Pandavas did so and regained the kingdom after the Mahabharata. Hence this vrat restores lost things, position, wealth and health — the 'Anant thread' is the protection of the arm.
Kheer-poori, 14 dishes, modak — the Anant thali
The bhog of Anant Chaturdashi is kheer-poori (poori without salt — many homes), 14 kinds of dishes/fruits (for the 14 worlds); modak-laddoo and curd-rice in homes with the Ganapati visarjan; the sweet poori-kheer of 'Anant Puja' in Bihar-Nepal; one meal without salt (strict) or fruit in the vrat.
- Kheer (rice-milk-saffron) + poori (without salt — some homes) — the main bhog of Ananta; malpua, halwa
- 14 dishes/fruits: banana-apple-pomegranate-coconut-cucumber-guava…, laddoo-peda-barfi, panjiri — counted to 14 if possible
- Bihar-Mithila-Nepal: the kheer of Anant Puja, poori, thekua (some homes), 14 paan-supari
- Maharashtra-Gujarat (visarjan): modak-laddoo (uttar puja), curd-rice/curd-poha (Bappa's bundle for the road), puran poli, shrikhand
- Jain (Kshamavani): plain sattvic food, the parana of the Paryushan fast (after Chaturdashi/Samvatsari), sharing sweets
- The vrat meal: one meal without salt (strict) or fruit; the pregnant/unwell a normal sattvic meal
Regional customs
The Anant dora of north-Bihar, the Bappa visarjan of Maharashtra, the Kshamavani of the Jains, the Anant puja of Nepal — one Chaturdashi, many forms.
A custom, tale, song or dish heard from your grandmother — 2-4 lines; after reading we add it on this page with your region's name (the phone is never shown — only to ask you back).
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✅ Do
- The turmeric-dyed Anant thread of 14 knots — after the puja and katha, men on the right hand, women on the left
- Keep the vrat 14 years; the old thread into water/at a peepal; the udyapan in the 14th year
- Hear the Kaundinya-Yudhishthira katha; 14 fruits and dishes for Ananta, then for the sister/aunt/Brahmin
- Ganapati visarjan in an artificial tank/at home — a clay idol, the clay to a tree
- Pitru Paksha from tomorrow — wind up auspicious work today; keeping the thread on is fine
❌ Don't
- No throwing away, breaking or placing the Anant thread in an impure place — the lesson of the Kaundinya tale; if removed, into water
- No abandoning the vrat midway (if broken, restart after atonement); no thread on the wrong hand
- No POP idol at the visarjan, no polluting rivers and lakes, no intoxicants or noise; no unsafe processions
- No tamasic food, salt (strict form) or sleeping in the day on the vrat day; no quarrels
- No new auspicious work the next day (the start of Pitru Paksha)
Frequently asked questions
When is Anant Chaturdashi in 2026 and the Ganapati visarjan?
This year's Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi date and puja muhurat (Delhi) are above — the Anant puja in the morning/Abhijit, the Ganapati visarjan the same day in the afternoon-evening (all night in Mumbai); if the Chaturdashi is split across two days, the Anant puja on the day the Chaturdashi is present in the morning/forenoon.
On which hand is the Anant thread, and for how many days?
Men on the right hand (upper arm/wrist), women on the left; 14 knots; at least 14 days, in the scriptures worn until the next year, and the old one into water/at a peepal when tying the new; if it breaks, put it in water and tie a new (consecrated) one.
Why 14 years? What if it is missed in between?
The 14 worlds and the Pandavas' 14 years (13 of exile + 1 incognito — folk belief) — Krishna prescribed a 14-year vrat to Yudhishthira; Kaundinya too kept it 14 years; if missed, atone the next year (charity/feeding Brahmins) and count again; the udyapan in the 14th year — 14 Brahmins, the gift of 14 items.
Why do women keep this vrat?
In the tale Sheela (Kaundinya's wife) kept it — the home filled with prosperity; the protection of husband and children, freedom from debt, disease and hardship, the return of lost wealth and position; both women and men in Bihar-Karnataka-Maharashtra; a new bride's first Anant at the in-laws'.
What is the link between Anant Chaturdashi and the Ganesh visarjan?
Ganeshotsav runs ten days from Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi — the tenth day is this Chaturdashi; Lokmanya Tilak (1893) set the close of the public Ganeshotsav on Anant Chaturdashi; hence it is the visarjan day in Maharashtra-Gujarat-Telangana; the Anant puja (Vishnu) and the visarjan (Ganesha) are separate rites on one day.
What is the Jain Kshamavani?
The Digambar Jain Dashalakshan festival from Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami to Chaturdashi (10 days) — on the last day, 'Anant Chaturdashi', a fast and rath yatra, Kshamavani the next day ('Michchhami Dukkadam' — asking forgiveness of all); the Shwetambar Paryushan-Samvatsari a few days earlier; the spirit — seeking forgiveness for the year's wrongs.
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⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; the custom of your family and region comes first. Follow the local administration's environmental and safety rules at the visarjan.
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