Hindu Festivals in September 2026

Tuesday · Parvati and Shiva

Kajari Teej, also known as Kajli Teej or Badi Teej, falls on the third day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada and is the second of the three monsoon Teej festivals dedicated to goddess Parvati, the others being Hariyali Teej in Shravana and Hartalika Teej in Bhadrapada Shukla. The festival is observed with greatest fervor across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar where it marks the height of the post monsoon greenery and the seasonal longing of married women for their husbands and of unmarried girls for the divine union of Shiva and Parvati that they seek to emulate. The name kajari derives from the dark monsoon clouds and the folk songs by the same name that are sung in groups by women on the swings tied to neem and peepal trees, the lyrics weaving the themes of viraha, monsoon beauty, and the lila of Radha and Krishna. In Bundi and Banaras the festival is observed with grand processions of the Teej Mata idol through the city streets, accompanied by camels, horses, folk dancers, and the gathered citizenry. Married women fast through the day from food and water for the long life of their husbands, sing kajari songs in courtyards through the evening, and break the fast only after sighting the rising moon and offering arghya with neem leaves, sattu, and seasonal fruits.

Friday · Lord Krishna

Birth anniversary of Krishna — eighth avatar of Vishnu. Observed on the 8th day of Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha with midnight celebration, fasting, and Dahi Handi tradition.

Monday · Devi

Hartalika Teej, observed on the Shukla Paksha Tritiya of Bhadrapada month, is the most sacred vrata for married and unmarried women across North India, Nepal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The Bhavishya Purana and Skanda Purana narrate that Goddess Parvati performed this nirjala vrata for one hundred years in a dense forest after her sakhis (friends) abducted (haran) her to prevent her marriage to Vishnu, which her father Himavan had arranged. Pleased by her tapasya, Lord Shiva appeared and granted her the boon of becoming his eternal consort. Married women observe the vrata for the long life and well-being of their husbands, while unmarried girls fast for a suitable Shiva-like spouse. The festival is marked by hand-painted henna, green and red bridal attire, traditional songs, and the establishment of clay idols of Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha for night-long worship.

Tuesday · Lord Ganesha

Ten-day festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesha in homes and pandals. Begins on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, ends with Anant Chaturdashi visarjan.

Friday · Vishnu

Anant Chaturdashi falls on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in his form as Ananta, the endless one who reclines upon the serpent Shesha across the cosmic ocean. The festival is best known across western and central India as the day on which Ganesha idols installed for the ten day Ganesh Utsav are immersed in water with great processions, but its older Vaishnava observance involves the tying of the sacred Anant Sutra, a fourteen-knotted thread sanctified through puja and worn on the right wrist by men and on the left by women. The Mahabharata records that Krishna instructed Yudhishthira to perform this vrata after the Pandavas had lost their kingdom, and through its merit they regained their throne and ended their sorrows. The day combines fasting, scriptural recitation of the Anant Vrata Katha, and the offering of fourteen items including fourteen kinds of fruit and fourteen sweets.

Saturday · Ancestors (pitru)

16-day period for ancestor (shraadh) rituals. Tarpan and pind-daan offered daily. Considered inauspicious for new ventures, weddings, purchases. Gaya is the most powerful venue.

Saturday · Lord Vishnu (Ananta Padmanabha)

The 14th day of Bhadrapada Shukla Paksha — marking the worship of Vishnu in his Ananta-Shesha reclining form, and also the immersion (visarjan) day for Ganesh murtis after 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi. Devotees tie the sacred Ananta-sutra — a 14-knotted yellow or red cotton thread — on the right wrist (men) or left wrist (women), invoking Vishnu’s 14 lokas of protection. Mumbai sees its largest visarjan procession of the year at Girgaum Chowpatty with over 200,000 Ganesh murtis immersed.