Vibhuvana Palaka Sankashti 2026 — Wednesday, 3 June 2026

About this day

In an adhik month he is worshipped as Vibhuvana Palaka, “the protector of the worlds”; this Sankashti comes only once in about three years.

This day falls in an adhik (extra) lunar month, also called Purushottam Maas and Mal Maas. Festivals are not held in an adhik month; they move to the regular (nija) month that follows. The month itself is given to devotion: reading, charity and the worship of Vishnu.

How Sankashti Chaturthi is kept

• The fast begins at sunrise and ends only after moonrise; the moonrise time for your place is shown in the list.
• During the day many take fruit, milk, sabudana, peanuts or sweet potato, and some keep a nirjala fast. These are customs, and every family has its own way.
• Ganesha is worshipped in the evening with durva grass, red flowers and modak or ladoo, and the Sankashti katha for that month is read.
• When the moon rises, water mixed with a little milk, sandal and rice is offered to it (chandra arghya), and the fast is broken with the prasad and a simple meal.
• On a cloudy night, many break the fast at the moonrise time by offering water towards the moon’s direction, or after the Ganesha puja.
• Those who are pregnant, elderly, diabetic or unwell need not go without food all day; a lighter fast with fruit and milk, or simply the evening prayer, is enough. Ask a doctor if you have a health condition.

Sankashti Chaturthi: the full guide and every date

Questions people ask