Festival · 2027
Hartalika Teej 2027 — Friday, 3 September 2027
Hartalika Teej is the fast of Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya, kept by women in memory of Parvati’s long tapas to win Shiva as her husband.
In 2026
Monday, 14 September 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Tritiya: 13 Sep, 7:08 AM – 14 Sep, 7:07 AM
- Lunar month
- Bhadrapada
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:05 AM / 6:27 PM
| Puja muhurat | 6:05 AM – 7:07 AM |
|---|---|
| Pratah kaal muhurat | 6:05 AM – 8:33 AM |
Rule: Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya at sunrise (a Tritiya joined with Chaturthi is preferred to one joined with Dwitiya).
In 2027
Friday, 3 September 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Tritiya: 2 Sep, 4:50 PM – 3 Sep, 2:19 PM
- Lunar month
- Bhadrapada
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:59 AM / 6:40 PM
| Puja muhurat | 5:59 AM – 8:32 AM |
|---|---|
| Pratah kaal muhurat | 5:59 AM – 8:32 AM |
Rule: Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya at sunrise (a Tritiya joined with Chaturthi is preferred to one joined with Dwitiya).
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Hartalika Teej?
Hartalika Teej is the third and most demanding of the Teej festivals of the rainy season, after Hariyali Teej and Kajari Teej. It falls on the third day of the bright half of Bhadrapada, usually a day before Ganesh Chaturthi. Married women keep it for the long life of their husbands and the well-being of the household, and many unmarried girls keep it in the hope of a good marriage, just as Parvati did.
The name is usually explained as harat, taken away, and aalika, a woman friend. The story told in the vrat katha is that Parvati’s father Himavan had promised her to Vishnu, while she had set her heart on Shiva. Her friends took her away into the forest so that the marriage could not happen, and there she made a linga of sand and worshipped it, fasting and keeping awake through the night. Pleased by her steadiness, Shiva accepted her. The day is remembered as the day of that worship.
What sets Hartalika apart is its discipline. Many women keep it nirjala, without food or water, from sunrise until the next morning, and stay awake through the night singing and listening to the katha. Families that cannot keep so strict a fast, or where a woman is unwell, pregnant or elderly, commonly soften it with water or fruit; the vrat has always made room for that.
The mood of the day is not only austere. Women dress in green or red, wear new bangles and mehendi, and gather in homes and temples to do the puja together. For many it is also a day of friendship and shared songs, which is fitting for a festival named after the friends who helped Parvati.
How it is observed
- The fast begins at sunrise; many women keep it nirjala, while others take water or fruit as health and family custom allow.
- Images of Shiva, Parvati and often Ganesha are shaped from sand or clay and placed under a small canopy decorated with flowers and banana leaves.
- The puja is usually done in the evening, at pradosh, with bel leaves, flowers, sindoor and the items of suhag offered to Parvati.
- The Hartalika vrat katha is read or heard, often by a group of women together.
- Many keep a jagaran through the night, singing bhajans and doing the puja again in each part of the night.
- The next morning the fast is broken after a final puja, and the clay images are immersed in water.
How the date is fixed
Hartalika Teej is kept on Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya, on the day the Tritiya holds at sunrise. If the Tritiya is kshaya, meaning it begins after one sunrise and ends before the next so that it touches no sunrise at all, we take the day on which it begins. The texts add a preference: a Tritiya joined to Chaturthi, the tithi that follows it, is better for this vrat than a Tritiya joined to Dwitiya, the tithi before it. The date and the Tritiya’s start and end times are shown above.
Where practice differs
Hartalika Teej is kept most widely in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, and in Nepal it is the heart of the Teej festival. In Maharashtra, Hartalika is worshipped as Parvati with her friend, and the day leads straight into the Ganesh festival. In Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana the same Tritiya is Gowri Habba, the Swarna Gowri vrat, when Gowri is welcomed a day before Ganesha. Being a bright-half tithi, Hartalika Teej carries the name Bhadrapada in every calendar, amanta or purnimanta. How strict the fast is, and whether the vigil lasts the whole night, depends on family custom.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Hartalika Teej and Hariyali Teej?
Hariyali Teej falls on Shravana Shukla Tritiya and celebrates the reunion of Shiva and Parvati with swings and songs. Hartalika Teej comes a month later, on Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya, and remembers Parvati’s tapas, so it is kept with a stricter fast and a night vigil.
Is Hartalika Teej always kept without water?
Nirjala is the traditional form, but it is not the only one. Women who are unwell, pregnant, elderly or on medication commonly take water or fruit, and many families have always kept it that way.
When is the Hartalika Teej fast broken?
The next morning, after sunrise and a short final puja. The clay images are then immersed and the woman eats, often first sharing prasad with the family.
Can unmarried girls keep Hartalika Teej?
Yes. Since the story is of Parvati praying for Shiva before her marriage, unmarried girls in many families keep it, sometimes in a lighter form, praying for a good life partner.