Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: Which Ganesh Mantras to Chant — Dates, Visarjan & Method

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 dates — sthapana to Visarjan

Tithi timings vary by city and panchang — when in doubt, follow your local panchang for the exact muhurat.

Vinayaka Chaturthi, Vinayaka Chavithi and Ganesh Chaturthi — the same festival

The festival carries different names by region: Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra and the north, Vinayaka Chaturthi in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Vinayaka Chavithi in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Ganeshotsav for the ten-day public celebration. All name the same Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi — 14 September 2026 — and the mantras below are chanted at every one of them.

Which mantra to chant on Ganesh Chaturthi

Om Gan Ganpataye Namah — the mantra of the festival

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः — Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha — is the Ganesh mantra most chanted through the festival. Its heart is the beej (seed) syllable gam (गं), given in the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, the Upanishadic hymn to Ganesha; the full mantra is a salutation to the lord of the ganas. It needs no initiation and no ritual setting — 108 repetitions in the morning carries the practice. Spelling variants (gan/gam, namah/namaha), meaning and method are on our Ganesh mantra page.

Vakratunda Mahakaya — before beginning anything

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥

Vakratunda Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha, Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarvakaryeshu Sarvada — "O curved-trunked, mighty-bodied one, radiant as ten million suns: make all my undertakings free of obstacles, always." This traditional shloka opens pujas, functions and new ventures across India, and is recited before the sthapana itself.

Ganesha Gayatri — for meditation

From the Ganapati Atharvashirsha tradition: Om Ekadantaya Vidmahe, Vakratundaya Dhimahi, Tanno Danti Prachodayat — a meditative invocation of the single-tusked one in the Gayatri metre, usually chanted after the main japa rather than in place of it.

Ganesh Chaturthi mantras in Sanskrit

All three in Devanagari, for those who prefer to read the Sanskrit directly:

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ॥
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ । निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥
ॐ एकदन्ताय विद्महे वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि । तन्नो दन्तिः प्रचोदयात् ॥

One mantra kept daily beats three attempted occasionally. If you are new, choose Om Gan Ganpataye Namah alone for these ten days.

How to chant on Ganesh Chaturthi (and all ten days)

1. Bathe or wash, and sit facing east in a quiet spot, spine upright.
2. Recite Vakratunda Mahakaya once — the traditional opening — and, if you like, state your sankalpa for the festival.
3. Listen first — play the mantra audio once and absorb the rhythm and pronunciation.
4. Chant Om Gan Ganpataye Namah 108 times — count on a mala or the app's 108 japa counter.
5. Sit in silence for a minute, and close with a simple aarti if you have a Ganpati at home.

Japa and the household sthapana are separate observances — you can chant the full ten days without bringing an idol home. New to japa? Start with the complete chanting method and the traditional rules.

Ganesh Chaturthi sankalpam — the sthapana intention

The sankalpam (सङ्कल्प, also written sankalpa or sankalp) is the spoken intention made before the puja begins: you name the time and place you are sitting in, and the purpose of the worship. It is recited on sthapana morning, 14 September 2026, holding water, rice and a flower in the right palm; the water is released at the end. Searched for as Ganesh Chaturthi sankalpam, Vinayaka Chavithi sankalpam and Ganesh Chaturthi sankalpa mantra, it is one formula, not three.

The traditional sankalpa formula

The Vedic sankalpa has a fixed shape: an opening invocation of Vishnu, then the calendrical position (kalpa, manvantara, yuga, month, paksha, tithi), then your own gotra and name, then the intention. Only the middle is variable — it names your date, place and lineage, which is why no single written text is universal. The opening and the closing are constant:

ॐ विष्णुर्विष्णुर्विष्णुः ॥
Om Vishnur Vishnur Vishnuh — the opening invocation.

… भाद्रपद मासे शुक्ल पक्षे चतुर्थ्यां तिथौ … गोत्रः … नामाहम् ।
मम सकुटुम्बस्य क्षेम-स्थैर्य-आयुर्-आरोग्य-ऐश्वर्याभिवृद्ध्यर्थं श्री सिद्धिविनायक पूजां करिष्ये ॥

… Bhadrapada mase, shukla pakshe, chaturthyam tithau … gotrah … namaham; mama sakutumbasya kshema-sthairya-ayur-arogya-aishvarya-abhivriddhyartham Shri Siddhivinayaka pujam karishye — "in the month of Bhadrapada, in the bright fortnight, on the Chaturthi tithi … of such-and-such gotra, I, named so … for the wellbeing, steadiness, long life, health and prosperity of myself and my family, undertake the worship of Shri Siddhivinayaka." Fill the gaps from your local panchang and your family's gotra. If you do not know your gotra, tradition allows Kashyapa gotra to be named in its place.

A simple sankalpa if you do not recite Sanskrit

The sankalpa is a statement of intention, not an incantation — saying it plainly is accepted practice. Sit with water in your right palm and say, in your own language: "Today, on Ganesh Chaturthi, I begin ten days of chanting Om Gan Ganpataye Namah one hundred and eight times each day, for the wellbeing of my family and the removal of obstacles in our work." Release the water, and begin.

Ganpati sthapana mantra

For the installation itself — placing the idol on its seat — tradition uses the avahana (invitation) verse, recited once with folded hands after the sankalpa:

ॐ गणानां त्वा गणपतिं हवामहे कविं कवीनामुपमश्रवस्तमम् ।
ज्येष्ठराजं ब्रह्मणां ब्रह्मणस्पत आ नः शृण्वन्नूतिभिः सीद सादनम् ॥

Om gananam tva ganapatim havamahe kavim kavinam upamashravastamam, jyeshtharajam brahmanam brahmanaspata a nah shrinvann utibhih sida sadanam — Rigveda 2.23.1: "We call upon you, Ganapati of the ganas, poet of poets, most renowned … hearing us, be seated in this seat with your protections." Its closing words — sida sadanam, "be seated in this seat" — are why this verse accompanies the sthapana. One honest note on the source: in the Rigveda the hymn addresses Brahmanaspati, and ganapati there is his epithet, "lord of the hosts" — the elephant-headed Ganesha of the Puranas is a later figure. Tradition has long applied the verse to him, and it is the standard avahana at the sthapana, but it is not a verse about Ganesha in its original setting. Follow it with Vakratunda Mahakaya and the day's first 108 of Om Gan Ganpataye Namah.

Ganpati Visarjan 2026 — what to chant on 23 September

Visarjan falls on Anant Chaturdashi, Wednesday 23 September 2026. Before the idol is lifted, tradition prescribes the uttara puja — a closing worship — and then the punaragamana verse, which asks the deity to return next year. This is the mantra of the visarjan itself:

यान्तु देवगणाः सर्वे पूजामादाय मामकीम् ।
इष्टकामप्रसिद्ध्यर्थं पुनरागमनाय च ॥

Yantu devaganah sarve pujam adaya mamakim, ishtakama-prasiddhyartham punaragamanaya cha — "May all the hosts of gods depart, having accepted my worship, for the fulfilment of what is sought, and in order to come again." The same verse closes visarjan in pujas across traditions, which is why it — and not a Ganesha-specific mantra — is what is recited as Bappa is lifted. It belongs to the puja paddhati — the received manuals of ritual practice — rather than to a numbered chapter of any Veda or Purana, so no verse reference can honestly be given for it.

The procession chant that follows is not Sanskrit but Marathi, and is a farewell rather than a mantra: "Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya" — "Lord Ganpati, come again early next year."

Households doing visarjan on day 1½, 3, 5 or 7 by family custom use the same uttara puja and the same verse. Keep that day's 108 of Om Gan Ganpataye Namah before the procession leaves, not after.

Why Ganesha is worshipped first

Tradition names Ganesha Vighnaharta — the remover of obstacles — and Pratham Pujya, the first to be worshipped: every undertaking, from a wedding to a daily puja, opens with an invocation to him so the work may proceed unobstructed. Ganesh Chaturthi marks his birth in the bright half of Bhadrapada — held by tradition to be at midday, which is why the sthapana is done in the Madhyahna muhurat. The ten days of japa, modak offerings and aarti end with the visarjan procession, entrusting Bappa to the waters until next year.

A simple ten-day practice plan

• Daily (14–23 September): Om Gan Ganpataye Namah × 108, morning or evening — same time every day.
• Before each day's puja: Vakratunda Mahakaya once.
• Sthapana day (14 Sep): sankalpa, then the Rigveda 2.23.1 avahana verse, then a second mala if you can.
• Visarjan day (23 Sep): the day's 108 before the procession, then uttara puja and the punaragamana verse.
• Through the day: let the mantra run silently — manasik japa counts.

Benefits in the tradition's own framing: obstacles met with a steadier mind, auspicious beginnings, and the quiet discipline of ten days kept well — fruits of consistent practice, not instant results.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Ganesh Mantra — spelling, meaning & benefits
• How to chant a mantra correctly
• Best time to chant mantras
• Navratri 2026: Durga mantras for the nine nights