Sankashti Caturthī is the monthly fast for Gaṇeśa as the remover of saṅkaṭa (distress) and vighna (obstacles), kept on the fourth day of every waning moon. Devotees fast through the day and break the fast only after the moon has risen and been offered arghya, which sets it apart from almost every other vrata. Kept month after month, it is believed to clear the troubles of the household and smooth the way ahead. How the day is fixed: In every lunar month the pañcāṅga takes the day on which Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Caturthī prevails at local moonrise. Most vratas follow the tithi at sunrise or in the afternoon, so this moonrise rule is a rare exception. A name for every month: Each of the twelve regular months gives Gaṇeśa a different name for this day, such as Bhālacandra, Vikaṭa and Ekadanta, and so on through the year. The fast itself is the same in every month. Keep in mind: Because the tithi is checked at moonrise, Sankashti sometimes falls on a date the calendar marks as Tṛtīyā. Moonrise also differs from town to town, so check the local time before breaking the fast. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. The fast: Most keep phalāhāra of fruit and milk through the day, and some keep a stricter fast without water. Evening pūjā: In the evening Gaṇeśa is bathed and dressed and offered twenty-one blades of durvā grass, red flowers such as hibiscus, and modaka or laddoo as naivedya. The Saṅkaṭanāśana Gaṇeśa Stotra or the Gaṇeśa Aṣṭottara is recited where the family knows it. Arghya at moonrise: When the moon rises it is viewed and offered arghya of water, sometimes with milk or curd added, and only then is food taken. Worth remembering: On Vinayaka Caturthī in Bhādrapada the moon is avoided because of Gaṇeśa's curse on it, while on Sankashti seeing the moon is the very act that completes the vrata. When the Caturthī falls on a Tuesday it is kept as Aṅgārakī Sankashti, held to be the most fruitful of the year. In Maharashtra the question at dusk is always what time the moon will rise, and on Aṅgārakī the queues at Siddhivināyaka in Mumbai and at the Aṣṭavināyaka shrines run through the night. Kerala families take the day to the Gaṇapati temple for Gaṇapati homam, Telugu devotees crowd shrines such as Kāṇipākam, and in Bengal and Odisha only some families keep the vrata at all. Which foods are allowed, whether water is taken and which stotra is recited are matters of family custom, so it is best to follow the elders of one's own house.
