Hartalika 2027: Date, Puja Steps and the Day Before Ganesh Chaturthi

Hartalika Tritiya in 2027 is on Friday, 3 September, Bhadrapad Shuddha Tritiya. It comes the day before Ganesh Chaturthi, so in most homes the Hartalika puja and the preparations for Ganpati happen together. The calendar also marks Swarnagauri vrat and Varaha Jayanti on the same date.

Hartalika 2027 at a glance

The story

Hartalika means "taken away by a friend". Parvati wanted to marry Shiva, but her father had promised her to Vishnu. Her friends took her into the forest, where she made a linga of sand and worshipped it with a fast, until Shiva agreed to marry her. Women keep the vrat for a good husband, or for the well-being of the one they have.

Puja steps

• Make or buy small clay or sand idols of Parvati and her friend, with a Shiva linga.
• Set them on a low stool decorated with a banana-leaf mandap, flowers and patri, the sixteen kinds of leaves used in the puja.
• Do the puja with haldi-kunku, fruit and a lamp, and read the Hartalika katha.
• Stay awake for part of the night if the family custom asks for it, and immerse the idols the next morning.

The fast is strict in many families: no food and, for some, no water until the next morning. Others keep a phalahar fast. Girls and married women both observe it.

The Ganeshotsav week

Hartalika opens the Ganesh festival. Ganesh Chaturthi is on 4 September, Gauri comes on 7 September, and Anant Chaturdashi is on 14 September. The full schedule is in Ganesh Chaturthi 2027.

The other vrats for married women are in Vat Purnima 2027 and Mangalagaur 2027. Daily panchang is on the September 2027 Marathi calendar.

For the full year at a glance, open the Marathi Calendar 2027 page.