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Sankashti Chaturthi: Meaning, Procedure and Source Text

Vrat · 2 verses · original in Sanskrit

About Sankashti Chaturthi

Sankashti Chaturthi is Ganesha's observance on the Chaturthi of the waning (Krishna) fortnight. According to the Ganesha Purana the fast is kept until moonrise, when arghya is offered with mantras to the tithi, to Gajanana and to the Moon.

Text: Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda, ch. 59) (Puranic)

Meanings and summaries are editorial, written for this library from the cited edition.

Practical guidance

Objective

Benefits

How to do it

  1. To begin the year-long vow, the source names Magha Krishna Chaturthi falling on a Tuesday, at an auspicious muhurta. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.21-22
  2. Clean your teeth and bathe (the verse says "twenty-one baths"), complete your daily rites, then chant the mantra. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.22-23
  3. Stay without food and in silence until moonrise. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.23, 59.36
  4. At the end of the day bathe with a paste of sesame and amla; chant the one-syllable, six-syllable or Vedic Ganesha mantra, and meditate on Gajanana with a steady mind. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.25-26
  5. Worship Ganesha with the sixteen offerings: food such as modakas, laddus and kheer, various fruits, betel nut and leaf, a gift (dakshina), twenty-one blades of durva grass, lamps and flowers. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.27-29
  6. At moonrise offer arghya with mantras: first to the tithi, then to Gajanana, then to the Moon. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.30
  7. Offer the worship, bow and ask forgiveness; feed twenty-one brahmins as far as you can (or ten or twelve if you cannot), and give them gifts. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.31-32
  8. After hearing the vow's story, eat in silence yourself, and spend the rest of the night with songs and music. Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.32-33

What to keep in mind

What not to do

Sourced items paraphrase the cited verses in plain language. Items marked "common practice" are editorial notes written for this library.

Text and meaning

Ganesha Purana 1.59.30

चन्द्रोदयेऽर्घ्यदानेन तिथये मन्त्रपूर्वकम् । गजाननाय पश्चात्तु चन्द्राय च ततः परम् ॥१.५९.३०॥

candrodaye'rghyadānena tithaye mantrapūrvakam | gajānanāya paścāttu candrāya ca tataḥ param ||1.59.30||

At moonrise, offer arghya with mantras: first to the tithi, then to Gajanana, and after that to the Moon.

Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.30

Ganesha Purana 1.59.36

आचन्द्रोदयपर्यन्तं व्रतमेतत्समाचरेत् । अन्धो मूको जडः पंगुस्तदीप्सितमवाप्नुयात् ॥३६॥

ācandrodayaparyantaṃ vratametatsamācaret | andho mūko jaḍaḥ paṃgustadīpsitamavāpnuyāt ||36||

Keep this vow until moonrise. (By doing so) even one who is blind, mute, dull or lame obtains what he desires.

Source: Ganesha Purana, Upasana Khanda ch. 59 (page "adhyayas 56-60"), Sanskrit Wikisource, revision 315600, Upasana Khanda 59.36

Frequently asked questions

What is the objective of Sankashti Chaturthi?
The Sankashta Chaturthi vow to Ganesha on the Chaturthi of the waning (Krishna) fortnight; in the source's story it is given as the way to be freed from sin.
How to do Sankashti Chaturthi?
1. To begin the year-long vow, the source names Magha Krishna Chaturthi falling on a Tuesday, at an auspicious muhurta. 2. Clean your teeth and bathe (the verse says "twenty-one baths"), complete your daily rites, then chant the mantra. 3. Stay without food and in silence until moonrise. 4. At the end of the day bathe with a paste of sesame and amla; chant the one-syllable, six-syllable or Vedic Ganesha mantra, and meditate on Gajanana with a steady mind. 5. Worship Ganesha with the sixteen offerings: food such as modakas, laddus and kheer, various fruits, betel nut and leaf, a gift (dakshina), twenty-one blades of durva grass, lamps and flowers. 6. At moonrise offer arghya with mantras: first to the tithi, then to Gajanana, then to the Moon. 7. Offer the worship, bow and ask forgiveness; feed twenty-one brahmins as far as you can (or ten or twelve if you cannot), and give them gifts. 8. After hearing the vow's story, eat in silence yourself, and spend the rest of the night with songs and music.
What are the benefits of Sankashti Chaturthi?
Keeping it for a year destroys all sins, brings an excellent son, and fulfils whatever else one wishes for. All troubles are destroyed and there is no fear of enemy armies. The source says even one who is blind, mute, dull or lame gains what he wishes, and that one obtains a wife, sons, wealth and a kingdom.
What should you keep in mind on Sankashti Chaturthi?
In the source the vow is kept on every Krishna Chaturthi for one year. For the year, the source names a food for each month: seven laddus in Shravana, curd in Bhadrapada, a fast in Ashvin, milk in Kartika, no food in Margashirsha, cow urine in Pausha, sesame in Magha, ghee with sugar in Phalguna, panchagavya in Chaitra, shatapatrika in Vaishakha, ghee in Jyeshtha and honey in Ashadha. Moonrise time differs from place to place; check your own city's moonrise time in the Panchang. (common practice) Sankashti is commonly kept on the day when Krishna Chaturthi is current at moonrise. A Sankashti that falls on a Tuesday is called Angaraki. (common practice) If the sky is cloudy, many people offer arghya and break the fast at the Panchang's moonrise time. (common practice) Look after your health before fasting. Anyone who is pregnant, ill, diabetic, elderly or on regular medication should keep a strict or waterless fast only on medical advice; such people commonly keep a lighter rule, such as fruit only or a single meal. (common practice)
What should you not do on Sankashti Chaturthi?
Do not speak ill of others. Avoid wrong deeds, betel (tambula), drinking water, harming others and tale-bearing.

Sources and licence

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