Anant Chaturdashi 2026: 25 September Date, Anant Sutra Vidhi, Vrat Katha & Ganesh Visarjan

There is a particular kind of quiet that settles over a house on Anant Chaturdashi. In the morning, a thread dyed in turmeric is tied around the wrist — fourteen knots, each one a world. By evening, the Ganpati who has lived in that same house for ten days is carried out to the water. Beginning and farewell, held on a single day.

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This is Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi, the day Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Ananta — the endless one, reclining on the coils of Shesha in the ocean of milk. It is also the tenth and final day of Ganesh Utsav. In 2026, both fall on Friday, 25 September.

Anant Chaturdashi 2026: Date & Timings

The festival follows the udaya tithi rule — it is observed on the day Chaturdashi is present at sunrise. Because Chaturdashi begins late on the evening of 24 September and runs through almost the whole of 25 September, Friday is unambiguous this year. There is no split-date confusion.

Sunrise shifts by up to an hour across India — Kolkata sees it around 05:26 AM, Mumbai around 06:27 AM — so Rahu Kaal and the muhurat windows move accordingly. Always confirm against a panchang set to your own city.

Why Anant Chaturdashi Matters

Vishnu has many forms, but Ananta is the one that answers a very human fear: the fear that everything ends. Ananta means without end. On this day He is worshipped in His Ananta Padmanabha form — reclining on the thousand-hooded serpent Shesha, who is Himself called Ananta, coiled on the cosmic waters between one creation and the next.

The vrat is not asking for a windfall. It asks for something harder: continuity. Prosperity that does not evaporate. Health that does not collapse. A household that stays held together through the turns of fortune. That is why the sutra has fourteen knots — one for each of the fourteen lokas, the whole vertical span of existence, bound into a single thread you can wear on your arm.

Traditionally the vrat is taken for fourteen consecutive years, and completed with an udyapan in the fourteenth year.

The Vrat Katha: Kaundinya and Sushila

In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were in exile and Yudhishthira asked how they might recover what was lost, Sri Krishna told him this story.

King Sumanta had a daughter, Sushila, who was married to the sage Kaundinya. Travelling with her husband, Sushila came upon a group of women on a riverbank worshipping Ananta. She asked what the vrat was, took it herself, and tied the fourteen-knotted thread on her arm. From that day the couple's fortunes rose steeply — wealth, cattle, land, respect.

Prosperity did what prosperity often does. Kaundinya grew proud. One day he noticed the thread on his wife's arm and asked what it was. When Sushila told him it was Ananta's grace that had brought them everything, he was insulted — my learning built this, he said — and he tore the sutra off and threw it into the fire.

Everything went. Wealth, cattle, standing, all of it. Ruined and desperate, Kaundinya set out into the forest looking for Ananta. He asked a mango tree heavy with fruit that no one ever ate; he asked a cow and her calf, a bull, two ponds lying side by side, a donkey and an elephant. None could answer him. At last, broken, he sat down to die.

An old brahmin appeared, took him by the hand, and led him into a cave — and there revealed Himself as Ananta. He explained that every creature Kaundinya had questioned was a soul working out the consequences of a past life: knowledge hoarded and never shared, love withheld, generosity refused. Kaundinya was told to observe the Anant vrat for fourteen years. He did, and everything returned to him.

The katha's teeth are in the middle, not the end. What Kaundinya lost, he lost the moment he decided he had earned it alone.

Anant Chaturdashi Puja Vidhi

1. Snan and sankalp. Bathe early, wear clean clothes, and take the sankalp before the puja — state the vrat, your name and gotra, and what you are seeking.
2. Prepare the sthan. Spread a clean cloth on a chowki. Place a kalash filled with water, a coconut on top, and a picture or murti of Vishnu — ideally in the Ananta Shayana (reclining) form.
3. Make the Anant Sutra. Take a length of cotton thread, dye it with haldi so it turns deep yellow, and tie fourteen knots in it. Some families use a red thread; both are accepted.
4. Invoke Ananta. Place the sutra before the kalash. Offer roli, akshat, chandan, flowers, dhoop and a ghee deep. Chant Om Anantaya Namah or the Vishnu Sahasranama.
5. Offer in fourteens. Fourteen flowers, fourteen durva or leaves, and naivedya — traditionally fourteen puris and a sweet such as kheer or ladoo.
6. Listen to the katha. Read or hear the Anant Vrat Katha in full. This is the heart of the day, not an optional extra.
7. Tie the sutra. Men tie it on the right arm, women on the left. Wear it with intention; it is not a bracelet.
8. Aarti and prasad. Perform Vishnu aarti, distribute prasad, and offer daan — food, cloth, or dakshina to a brahmin — before you eat.

Fasting Rules

Ganesh Visarjan on the Same Day

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 fell on 14 September. Households and mandals that installed Bappa for the full ten days perform visarjan on 25 September, the same Anant Chaturdashi.

Before the idol leaves, do a final aarti, offer modak and durva, and perform the uttar puja — formally asking Ganpati's leave and inviting Him to return next year. Then carry the murti to water with drums and the old cry of Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya.

If you are immersing at home, use a wide bucket or tub, prefer a clay or eco-friendly murti, and pour the settled water into a tulsi pot or a clean patch of earth rather than a drain.

The two observances rhyme more than they compete. One ties a thread to what does not end; the other lets go of a form that was never meant to stay. Together they make a fairly complete instruction on how to hold anything.

Puja Samagri for Anant Chaturdashi

September 2026: What Comes Next

Anant Chaturdashi closes the festive half of Bhadrapada — and almost immediately the mood turns. Pitru Paksha begins on 27 September 2026, the fortnight given to shraddha and tarpan for the ancestors. Auspicious new beginnings pause; remembrance takes over until Sarva Pitru Amavasya.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Anant Chaturdashi in 2026?
Friday, 25 September 2026. Chaturdashi Tithi runs from 07:48 PM on 24 September to 07:36 PM on 25 September (IST), and the festival is observed on the 25th under the udaya tithi rule.

Why does the Anant Sutra have fourteen knots?
The fourteen knots stand for the fourteen lokas — the full range of worlds in the cosmos. Binding them into one thread is a way of saying that Ananta pervades all of them, and that the wearer is tied to that continuity.

Which arm should the Anant Sutra be tied on?
By common practice, men tie it on the right arm and women on the left. Some sampradayas differ; follow your family's custom.

What do I do with last year's Anant Sutra?
It is removed on the day of the new puja. Do not throw it in the bin — immerse it in flowing water, or place it at the root of a tulsi or peepal, along with the previous year's puja remnants.

Is fasting compulsory on Anant Chaturdashi?
No. The essential acts are the puja, the katha and the tying of the sutra. A phalahar fast is traditional but can be adjusted for health, age or pregnancy without diminishing the vrat.

Is Ganesh Visarjan always on Anant Chaturdashi?
Only for those observing the full ten-day Ganesh Utsav. Many households do visarjan on day 1½, 3, 5 or 7 instead. In 2026, the ten-day visarjan falls on 25 September.

Can the vrat be started this year and continued later?
Yes. The tradition is to observe it for fourteen consecutive years and complete it with an udyapan. Take the sankalp with that intention this year and continue from here.

Timings above are calculated for New Delhi (IST). Tithi and muhurat windows shift with your location — please confirm against a panchang for your own city before setting the puja time.