🐘 Ganesh Chaturthi (& Rishi Panchami) Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the household vidhi — installation and prana-pratishtha at midday on Chaturthi, daily morning and evening puja-aarti-modak, rishi puja on Panchami, visarjan at the end.
How to do Ganesh Chaturthi (& Rishi Panchami) — the steps
- 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.
- 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).
- 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'.
- 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).
- 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'.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Puja samagri checklist
A clay idol, 21 durva, 21 modaks, red flowers — the essence of Ganapati's puja; unploughed grain for Rishi Panchami.
- Clay (shadu) Ganesha idol, wooden seat/mandap, red-yellow cloth, makhar/decoration, banana stems, flower strings
- Kalash, coconut, mango leaves, betel nuts (Riddhi-Siddhi), coin, mauli, akshat
- Durva (21 pairs, 3/5-leaved), shami leaves, red and yellow flowers (hibiscus-marigold-kaner), garland, patri (21 leaves — Maharashtra)
- Sindoor, red sandalwood, turmeric, kumkum, janeu, clothes (dhoti-uparna/yellow-red), perfume
- Bhog: 21 modaks (steamed/fried), besan-boondi laddoo, panchamrit, fruit (banana-apple-pomegranate), coconut, paan-supari-cloves-cardamom, panchakhadya
- Ghee lamp, incense, camphor, agarbatti, aarti thali, bell, conch
- Ganesha Atharvashirsha/stotra/aarti book, Sankatnashan stotra
- Rishi Panchami: Saptarishi picture/7 betel nuts, an Arundhati symbol, a datiwan/apamarga twig, seven kinds of grain (charity), sama/morhan/bhagar rice, milk and fruit
- Visarjan: curd-sugar/modak (alongside), akshat and flowers, coconut, artificial tank/tub (at home), gulal
Modak — Bappa's favourite; the unploughed meal of Rishi Panchami
The ukadiche modak (a steamed rice-flour pouch with a coconut-jaggery filling) is Maharashtra's signature; fried modak/besan-boondi laddoo in the north; 21 in number. On Rishi Panchami sama/morhan (bhagar) rice — produce grown without bullock or plough.
- Ukadiche modak (21): filling — 1 grated coconut + 1 cup jaggery + cardamom-poppy seeds, on a low flame; covering — 1 cup rice flour kneaded in 1¼ cups boiling water with ghee and salt; shape into pouches and steam 10-12 minutes; with ghee
- Fried modak (maida-khoya), besan-boondi laddoo, panchakhadya (coconut-poppy-dry fruits-sugar-ghee), puran poli, shrikhand-poori, varan-bhaat (the naivedya of Maharashtra)
- Daily bhog: modak/laddoo, fruit, durva; curd-sugar or modak alongside on the visarjan day
- Rishi Panchami: sama/morhan/bhagar rice (unploughed produce), milk-curd, fruit, unploughed vegetables (tubers and roots), rock salt — one meal; no grain grown with bullock and plough
- During Ganapati's stay: sattvik food, no onion-garlic-meat; prasad shared daily
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Installation at midday (Abhijit/tithi above), a clay idol, facing east/north-east
- 21 durva, 21 modaks, red flowers; aarti morning and evening daily; the idol never left alone
- Do not look at the moon on Chaturthi night; if seen, the Syamantaka mantra
- Women do the Saptarishi puja, the unploughed meal and charity on Rishi Panchami
- Immersion in a tub/artificial tank at home — the water to the plants; no plaster idol
❌ Don't
- No plaster-of-Paris/chemical-painted idol — it pollutes rivers and ponds; no thermocol decoration
- No Tulsi for Ganapati (a particular story — a curse); no ketaki; no broken durva
- No tamasic food, quarrels or leaving the house empty while Ganapati stays
- No intoxication in the immersion procession, no loud sound after 10 pm, no children in deep water
- No ploughed grain (wheat-rice-dal) for those keeping Rishi Panchami
Vrat katha
Before her bath Parvati made a boy from the paste of her body, breathed life into him and set him to guard the door — 'let no one in'. Shiva came, the boy stopped him; in anger Shiva cut off his head with the trident. At… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Ganesh Chaturthi in {Y}?
The date at the top is this year's Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi — from panchang calculations; the midday installation muhurat (Abhijit/tithi window), Rishi Panchami and the 1½/5/7/10-day visarjan dates (Anant Chaturdashi) are in the table too.
The correct time for installation?
Madhyahna Kaal — the middle of the three parts of the day (about 10:30 am-1:30 pm), Abhijit (~11:40-12:30) is best within it; the day on which the Chaturthi tithi is present at midday is the day; avoid Rahu Kaal — times above.
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.
🏠 Ganesh Chaturthi (& Rishi Panchami) 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals