Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: Date, Colours and Crystals to Wear

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 falls on Monday, 14 September 2026, and the ten-day Ganeshotsav that follows closes with Ganesh Visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi, Friday, 25 September 2026. It is the first of the big autumn festivals, and in most Indian households the planning starts weeks ahead: which day to bring the murti home, what the family wears on Sthapana morning, what to gift, and which bead or bracelet to start on the day itself.

This guide covers the practical side of all of it. Dates and the Sthapana window first, then the traditional colours and where they come from, then the six stones families most often wear through Ganeshotsav, a five-step way to prepare a bracelet before the first aarti, and finally what to do with your jewellery on visarjan day. Everything below is framed as traditional practice rather than as a promise - individual experiences vary, and regional custom varies more than most festival guides admit.

When is Ganesh Chaturthi 2026?

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 is on Monday, 14 September 2026. The festival marks the birth of Bhagwan Ganesha and begins on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, the fourth day of the waxing moon in the month of Bhadrapada. It is also called Vinayaka Chaturthi in South India.

Day	Date (2026)	What traditionally happens
Ganesh Chaturthi (Sthapana)	Monday, 14 September	Murti is brought home, prana pratishtha is performed, first aarti
Madhyahna puja window	14 September, around midday	Traditional Sthapana muhurat - exact timing shifts by city
Gauri Avahan and Gauri Puja	Mid-festival (Maharashtra, Karnataka)	Jyeshtha Gauri is welcomed alongside Ganesha
Ganesh Visarjan / Anant Chaturdashi	Friday, 25 September	Final immersion, "Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya"

Two practical notes. The Madhyahna Sthapana muhurat is calculated from local sunrise, so Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi each get a slightly different window - check a panchang for your own city. And not every household keeps Ganesha for ten days. Dedh din (one and a half days), teen din, paach din and saat din visarjans are all common and equally traditional.

The large public pandal tradition - Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai, Khairatabad in Hyderabad, the Pune mandals - grew out of community celebrations popularised in the 1890s, which turned a household puja into a public festival. More of that history is on Wikipedia's Ganesh Chaturthi entry and the Anant Chaturdashi page.

What colours are traditionally worn on Ganesh Chaturthi?

Red, yellow-orange and green are the three colours most associated with Ganesh Chaturthi in Hindu tradition. Red comes from the sindoor offered to Ganesha, yellow from haldi and the marigold garland, and green from durva grass, the blade offering that is considered especially dear to him.

Colour	Where it comes from	Stone family that matches
Red / sindoor	Sindoor applied to the murti, red hibiscus (jaswand)	Red jasper, carnelian
Yellow / haldi	Haldi, marigold, modak, yellow silk	Citrine, yellow tiger eye
Green / durva	Durva grass, the 21 blade offering	Green aventurine
White / sphatik	Camphor, white flowers, purity of the sankalp	Clear quartz (sphatik)

Most families keep it simple: a red or yellow kurta or saree on Sthapana day, and something white or light for visarjan. The stones below follow the same colour logic, which is why they turn up so often in festival gifting.

6 stones traditionally worn during Ganeshotsav

These are the pieces Indian families most often start on Chaturthi day. Every association below is traditional and cultural, not a promise about outcomes - individual experiences vary.

1. 8 mukhi rudraksha - the single most direct choice. In Vedic tradition the eight-faced bead is associated with Ganesha himself, which is why it is often called the Ganesha bead. If you start only one thing on Chaturthi morning, this is the piece most pandits would point to. We covered it in detail in our guide to 8 mukhi rudraksha benefits.
2. Green aventurine - matches the durva green of the festival. Aventurine gets its shimmer from tiny mineral inclusions, an optical effect mineralogists call aventurescence. In crystal healing tradition it is associated with new beginnings and steady growth, which is why it is a common Chaturthi gift for someone starting a business or a course.
3. Citrine - the haldi-yellow stone. According to crystal healing tradition it is linked with confidence and abundance. Natural citrine is relatively scarce; much of what is sold as citrine is heat-treated amethyst, as the GIA gem encyclopedia explains. Worth knowing before you buy.
4. Red jasper - the sindoor red. Traditionally associated with grounding and stamina, and an easy everyday stone for people who find brighter crystals too showy.
5. Clear quartz (sphatik) - sphatik has a long history in Indian puja, from mala beads to shivlings. Traditionally believed to support clarity of intention, which pairs naturally with the sankalp taken on Sthapana day.
6. Tiger eye - a common choice for the "new venture" energy of the festival. In crystal healing tradition it is associated with courage and focus.

Stone	Colour family	Traditionally associated with	Commonly chosen by
8 mukhi rudraksha	Brown	Ganesha, clearing the path ahead	Anyone starting one thing this festival
Green aventurine	Green (durva)	New beginnings, steady growth	New business or new course
Citrine	Yellow (haldi)	Confidence, abundance	Shop owners, sales and client-facing work
Red jasper	Red (sindoor)	Grounding, stamina	Long days, physical work
Clear quartz	White	Clarity of intention	Anyone taking a sankalp
Tiger eye	Golden brown	Courage, focus	Students and first-time job starters

Ganesha is invoked in Hindu tradition as Vighnaharta, the one who clears obstacles before a new undertaking, which is why so much of Ganeshotsav gifting centres on beginnings - a new job, a new shop, a new academic year.

What to wear across the ten days

A simple pattern most households follow, if you want one:

• Day 1 (Sthapana, 14 September): red or yellow. Start your bracelet or bead today, after the first aarti.
• Days 2 to 4: everyday wear. Keep the piece on through the morning aarti.
• Gauri days (mid-festival): green and gold are traditional in Maharashtra and Karnataka, where Gauri is welcomed as Ganesha's mother.
• Days 8 to 9: many families do a fuller puja before visarjan. White or cream is common.
• Visarjan day (25 September): white or light colours, with the bracelet kept on rather than immersed.

If you are gifting rather than wearing

Gifting on Chaturthi day is common for a new shop, a new home or a child starting a school year. Keep the gift to one piece with one clear intention rather than a set, and hand it over before the first aarti if you can. The festival calendar in our Hindu festival bracelet guide maps stones to each major festival through the year.

How to prepare your bracelet before Sthapana

Five steps, done the evening before or on Chaturthi morning:

1. Rinse and dry. Plain water and a soft cloth is enough for rudraksha and for most bracelets. Do not soak strung pieces - the thread takes far longer to dry than the beads.
2. Give it sunlight or moonlight. An hour of early morning sun on the 13th or 14th is the usual practice. Skip harsh afternoon sun for amethyst and citrine, which can fade.
3. Keep it at the altar during the first aarti. Place the bracelet near the murti through the Sthapana puja rather than on it.
4. Take your sankalp. Hold the piece, name the one thing you are starting this year, and keep it to a single clear intention.
5. Wear it from day one. Left wrist is the common guidance for receiving intentions, right wrist for outward action. Rudraksha is traditionally worn on the right.

For longer-term care, our guide on rudraksha cleaning, oiling and storage covers the oiling schedule that keeps a bead from drying out. Wikipedia's rudraksha entry has the botanical background on Elaeocarpus ganitrus if you want the plant science.

Ganesh Visarjan 2026: what to do with your bracelet

Keep it on. Ganesh Visarjan on 25 September is for the clay murti, not for your jewellery - there is no traditional basis for immersing a bracelet or bead, and doing so simply loses the piece.

Eco-visarjan and the clay

The eco-visarjan shift matters here too. Many cities now run artificial immersion tanks and encourage shadu mati (natural clay) murtis over plaster of Paris, and several municipal corporations publish tank locations a week before Anant Chaturdashi. If you are doing a home visarjan in a bucket, the settled clay is traditionally returned to a garden or a tulsi pot rather than a drain.

After visarjan, most people simply continue wearing the piece through the year and refresh it at the next festival. Soultheory also offers Pran Pratishta, a ₹100 energization add-on, for anyone who wants a piece formally consecrated before Sthapana rather than after - order it with enough lead time to reach you before the 14th.

Regional practice varies more than people expect

Worth saying plainly, because a lot of festival content flattens this:

• Maharashtra: the ten-day public form, Gauri-Ganpati, and the largest pandal culture.
• Karnataka: Gauri Habba is celebrated the day before Ganesha Chaturthi, and the two are treated as a pair.
• Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: Vinayaka Chavithi, with the patri (21 leaves) offering central to the puja.
• Goa: Chovoth, with the matoli canopy of seasonal produce hung above the murti.
• Tamil Nadu and Kerala: Vinayaka Chaturthi, typically a shorter household observance.

None of these is more correct than another. Follow what your family follows.

Where Soultheory fits

Soultheory makes certified rudraksha and gemstone bracelets in India, in the ₹999 to ₹3,999 band. For Ganesh Chaturthi the two most requested pieces are the 8 mukhi rudraksha and green aventurine - browse rudraksha bracelets and green aventurine. If you are gifting, order by the first week of September so it reaches you before Sthapana. For an adjacent guide, see our Krishna Janmashtami 2026 colours and crystals piece.

Frequently asked questions

When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2026? Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 falls on Monday, 14 September 2026. The ten-day Ganeshotsav ends with Ganesh Visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi, Friday, 25 September 2026.

Which rudraksha is associated with Ganesha? The 8 mukhi rudraksha. In Vedic tradition the eight-faced bead is associated with Bhagwan Ganesha, which is why it is commonly called the Ganesha bead and why it is the usual choice to start on Chaturthi day.

What colour should I wear on Ganesh Chaturthi? Red and yellow are the most traditional, drawn from the sindoor and haldi offered to Ganesha. Green is also common because of the durva grass offering. White or light colours are typical for visarjan day.

Can I start wearing a new bracelet on Ganesh Chaturthi? Yes. Chaturthi morning, after the first aarti, is considered an auspicious time to begin a new piece in Indian cultural belief, particularly if you are starting a new venture, job or course of study.

Should I immerse my bracelet during Ganesh Visarjan? No. Visarjan is for the clay murti. There is no traditional practice of immersing bracelets or rudraksha beads, and doing so will only damage or lose the piece. Keep wearing it.

Do I have to keep Ganesha for the full ten days? No. Dedh din, teen din, paach din and saat din visarjans are all long-standing traditions. Households choose based on family custom, not on which one is considered better.

-

Written by the Soultheory Editorial Team. More about how we research and source our content on our editorial team page.

---

Important note: Information shared here reflects traditional Vedic beliefs and cultural practices. Individual experiences vary. This content is for educational and cultural purposes only - it is not medical, financial, or psychological advice. Consult qualified professionals for health, financial, or other personal decisions.