Festival · Vishnu as Ananta

Anant Chaturdashi

Worship of Vishnu as Ananta, the endless one. It is also the last day of the Ganesh festival, when many images are immersed.

Anant Chaturdashi 2027: Tuesday 14 September 2027; New Delhi

City

For New Delhi, Tuesday 14 September 2027

Shukla Chaturdashi tithi

Begins: 12:40 am
Ends: 2:49 am, 15 Sept

Sunrise: 6:05 am
Sunset: 6:28 pm
Moonrise: 5:34 pm
Moonset: 5:17 am, 15 Sept

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

Puja times

For New Delhi, Tuesday 14 September 2027

Anant puja

6:05 am to 2:49 am, 15 Sept

Chaturdashi begins: 12:40 am
Chaturdashi ends: 2:49 am, 15 Sept

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

Tie the anant thread with fourteen knots
Worship Vishnu
Take part in the Ganesha immersion

What it remembers

Anant Chaturdashi is the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada. It is the day of Vishnu as Ananta, the endless, worshipped with a thread of fourteen knots tied on the arm for a year of protection, and it is the tenth and last day of the Ganesh festival, when the great public images are carried to the sea and the rivers.

Sushila and the anant thread

The Bhavishya Purana tells of Sushila, who tied the anant thread of fourteen knots on her arm after worshipping Vishnu, and prospered. Her husband Kaundinya, taking it for a charm, tore it off and threw it in the fire, and lost everything. He wandered in search of Ananta until Vishnu showed himself, and kept the vrat for fourteen years to win back his fortune.

The Pandavas in exile

When the Pandavas had lost their kingdom at dice and gone into the forest, Krishna told Yudhishthira to keep the Anant vrat to end their troubles. The story of Sushila and Kaundinya was told to him then, and is read at the puja to this day.

Vishnu on the endless serpent

Ananta is Vishnu as the endless, resting on the coils of Ananta Shesha on the ocean of milk. The fourteen knots of the thread are taken for the fourteen worlds he holds, and the fourteenth day for his fourteen forms.

Ganesha goes home

On the tenth day Ganesha, who came on Chaturthi, goes back to Kailash. The processions of the last day, with drums, gulal and dancing, carry the great images of the pandals to the water: the farewell is as joyful as the welcome.

The Anant vrat and the farewell

The Anant puja is done from the morning while Chaturdashi holds; the immersion follows through the day. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

Bathe early and keep the vrat: many fast, eating once, without salt, in some families.
Set up a kalash with water and, beside it, an image of Vishnu, or a coil of kusha grass shaped like a serpent for Ananta.
Take the anant thread, cotton or silk dyed with turmeric and kumkum, and tie fourteen knots in it.
Worship Ananta and the thread with sandalwood, flowers, tulsi, incense, and an offering of fourteen of each: fruits, sweets or puris.
Hear the story of Sushila and Kaundinya, then tie the thread on the right arm (men) or the left (women), to be kept for a year.
For Ganesha, do the uttara puja, the farewell aarti, and carry the image to the water with music; or immerse it in a bucket at home and pour the water into the garden.
Share prasad; many feed brahmins or the poor before breaking the fast.

What you need

An anant thread of fourteen knots (or cotton thread, turmeric and kumkum to make one)
An image of Vishnu, or kusha grass for Ananta
A kalash, flowers, tulsi and sandalwood
Fourteen fruits, sweets or puris to offer
For Ganesha: the aarti, flowers, and a vessel of water for immersion

Across India

Mumbai and Pune

The great visarjan: processions lasting a day and a night take Lalbaugcha Raja and thousands of other images to the sea at Girgaon Chowpatty.

Maharashtra and Goa

The last of the household Ganpatis go too; families keep the Anant vrat the same morning.

Hyderabad

The Khairatabad Ganesh is taken to Hussain Sagar with the city’s processions.

North India

Chiefly the Anant vrat for Vishnu, with the thread tied on the arm and the story of Sushila read.

Bihar and Jharkhand

Anant Pooja at home and on riverbanks; the coiled kusha Ananta is worshipped in a bowl of milk.

Jain tradition

Close to the end of Paryushana: for Shvetambara Jains the Samvatsari, the day of forgiveness, falls near this time; Digambaras end Das Lakshana on this Chaturdashi.

When it falls

Shukla Chaturdashi of Bhadrapada. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Anant Chaturdashi in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

2027Tuesday 14 September 2027
2028Saturday 2 September 2028

Questions

When is Anant Chaturdashi in 2027?

Tuesday 14 September 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Anant Chaturdashi fall?

Shukla Chaturdashi of Bhadrapada. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Anant Chaturdashi kept?

Families tie the anant thread with fourteen knots, worship Vishnu and take part in the Ganesha immersion. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Anant Chaturdashi?

Vishnu as Ananta. Worship of Vishnu as Ananta, the endless one. It is also the last day of the Ganesh festival, when many images are immersed.

What is the anant thread?

A thread of cotton or silk dyed with turmeric and kumkum and tied in fourteen knots, worshipped as Vishnu the endless and worn on the arm for a year as a promise of his protection. Men tie it on the right arm and women on the left.

Why does the Ganesh festival end on Anant Chaturdashi?

The public festival lasts ten days from Ganesh Chaturthi, and the tenth falls on Anant Chaturdashi. Families who keep Ganesha for fewer days immerse him earlier; the great pandals all go on this day.

When is the Anant puja done?

From sunrise, while the Chaturdashi tithi holds; the page shows that time for your city.

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