Vinayaka Chaturthi falls twelve times in 2026, on the fourth day of Shukla Paksha in every lunar month, and each one is a midday Ganesha vrat in its own right. All twelve dates with their Dubai puja muhurat are in the table below, calculated for Dubai (GST) rather than Indian Standard Time, so a tithi that shifts overnight in India lands correctly for you here.
One of the twelve is the big one. The Bhadrapada Chaturthi on Monday, 14 September 2026 is the ten-day festival everyone knows as Ganesh Chaturthi, and it has its own guide: Ganesh Chaturthi 2026, date, muhurat and sthapana vidhi. This page is for the monthly vrat and the eleven quieter Chaturthis around it.
What Vinayaka Chaturthi Means
Each lunar month in the Hindu calendar carries two Chaturthi tithis, and both belong to Lord Ganesha. The one that follows Amavasya, during Shukla Paksha, is Vinayaka Chaturthi. The one that follows Purnima, during Krishna Paksha, is Sankashti Chaturthi.
Lord Ganesha is Pratham Pujya, worshipped first among all deities. He is the remover of obstacles and the lord of learning, which is why families turn to him before a new job, a new home, an exam or a new venture.
Vinayaka Chaturthi is also called Varad Vinayaka Chaturthi. Varad means asking the divine to fulfil a wish held closely. Those who keep this vrat traditionally ask for wisdom and patience rather than for the thing itself.
Why Devotees Keep the Vinayaka Chaturthi Vrat
- To clear obstacles standing in the way of a decision already made
- To support children in their studies and the household in its welfare
- To steady a business, a career move or a job search
- To bring calm into the home and ease strain between family members
- To begin anything new with the right intention set first
Vinayaka Chaturthi Puja Vidhi
The puja is performed at midday, during the Madhyahna period, because that is when the Chaturthi tithi is considered strongest. The vrat is broken only after the puja is complete.
- Rise early, bathe, and wear fresh clothes. Red is traditional for Ganesha.
- Keep the vrat through the day. Most people take fruit and milk, or a single sattvic meal after the puja.
- Clean the puja space and prepare the naivedhya before the muhurat begins.
- Light an oil lamp, sit for a moment of dhyana, then invoke Lord Ganesha and invite him to accept your offerings.
- Offer kumkum, chandan and twenty one strands of durva grass while chanting Om Gam Ganapataye Namah (à€à€ à€à€ à€à€Łà€Șà€€à€Żà„ à€šà€źà€). The five Ganesha mantras guide carries the longer forms with meanings if you want to extend the japa.
- You may also chant the Ganesh Gayatri: Om Ekadantaya Viddhmahe, Vakratundaya Dheemahi, Tanno Danti Prachodayat.
- Perform the Panchopachara puja with gandha (perfume or itra), pushpa (hibiscus or any fresh flower), dhoopa, deepa and naivedhya (modak, besan or boondi laddoo).
- Offer the tamboolam: a whole coconut with its husk, bananas, paan, supari, haldi, kumkum and dakshina.
- Read the Vinayaka Chaturthi Vrat Katha.
- Close with the Ganesh Aarti and salutations with lit camphor.
Vinayaka Chaturthi 2026 Dates and Muhurat for the UAE
All timings below are the Madhyahna puja muhurat in local Dubai time. They apply across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman with only a minute or two of difference.
| Month and Tithi | Date (Dubai) | Puja Muhurat | Also Known As |
| Magha, Shukla Chaturthi | Thursday, 22 January 2026 | 11:26 AM to 01:36 PM | Ganesha Jayanti / Gauriganesha Chaturthi |
| Phalguna, Shukla Chaturthi | Friday, 20 February 2026 | 01:08 PM to 01:42 PM | Dhundhiraja Chaturthi |
| Chaitra, Shukla Chaturthi | Sunday, 22 March 2026 | 11:13 AM to 01:39 PM | Vasudeva Chaturthi |
| Vaishakha, Shukla Chaturthi | Monday, 20 April 2026 | 11:01 AM to 01:36 PM | Sankarshana Chaturthi |
| Jyeshtha, Shukla Chaturthi | Tuesday, 19 May 2026 | 12:48 PM to 01:36 PM | Varada Chaturthi |
| Jyeshtha, Shukla Chaturthi | Thursday, 18 June 2026 | 10:58 AM to 01:43 PM | Pradyumna Chaturthi |
| Ashadha, Shukla Chaturthi | Friday, 17 July 2026 | 11:04 AM to 01:47 PM | Aniruddha Chaturthi |
| Shravana, Shukla Chaturthi | Sunday, 16 August 2026 | 11:05 AM to 01:41 PM | Durva Ganapati Chaturthi |
| Bhadrapada, Shukla Chaturthi | Monday, 14 September 2026 | 11:01 AM to 01:29 PM | Ganesh Chaturthi / Siddhivinayaka Chaturthi |
| Ashwina, Shukla Chaturthi | Wednesday, 14 October 2026 | 10:55 AM to 01:15 PM | Kapardisha Chaturthi |
| Kartika, Shukla Chaturthi | Friday, 13 November 2026 | 10:58 AM to 01:09 PM | Labh Chaturthi |
| Margashirsha, Shukla Chaturthi | Sunday, 13 December 2026 | 11:10 AM to 01:17 PM | Krichchhra Chaturthi |
Tithi start and end, muhurat window, star and moon timings, all set to UAE local time.
Two things in that table look like mistakes and are not.
Jyeshtha appears twice, in May and again in June. 2026 carries an adhika masa, the leap month the Hindu calendar inserts to keep the lunar year in step with the solar one, so that month runs through two Shukla Chaturthis instead of one.
February and May have very short windows, 34 and 48 minutes against roughly two and a half hours everywhere else. On those two days the Chaturthi tithi only overlaps part of the Madhyahna period, and the muhurat is the overlap rather than the full midday block. Set an alarm for those two.
Keeping Vinayaka Chaturthi in the UAE
The midday muhurat is the one real difficulty for families here. It usually falls inside working hours, and most people cannot get home for it. The accepted practice is to do a short sankalp and lamp lighting before you leave in the morning, then complete the full puja in the evening during pradosh, keeping the vrat unbroken until then.
Sourcing is the other hurdle. Durva grass, twenty one patras and fresh modak are not things you find in a Dubai supermarket the night before. Order samagri a few days ahead, and if you are in Sharjah or Ajman allow an extra day for delivery.
Temple hours and the midday muhurat do not line up as neatly as you would hope.
The Hindu Temple in Jebel Ali runs 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM daily, so it covers the Madhyahna window on every date in the table. The Bur Dubai complex in Al Fahidi opens 7:30 to 11:00 AM and again 5:00 to 8:00 PM, which means it is shut for most midday muhurats. BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi lists Monday as its weekly closed day, and three of the 2026 dates fall on a Monday, including Ganesh Chaturthi on 14 September.
Festival days often run special timings, so call ahead rather than trusting the weekly schedule.
If you would rather not assemble the samagri yourself, our Ganesh Pooja Box holds what the vidhi above actually calls for, packed for UAE delivery. For the murti itself, the Ganpati Special range covers everything from a small porcelain murti for a flat to a decorated Ganpati for a family sthapana.
For the monthly vrat
A murti that stays in the mandir all year, and the samagri that gets used up each month.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Vinayaka Chaturthi in 2026?
It falls once every lunar month. The twelve dates for 2026 are in the table above. The most significant one, Ganesh Chaturthi, is Monday 14 September 2026, with a Dubai puja muhurat of 11:01 AM to 01:29 PM.
What is the difference between Vinayaka Chaturthi and Sankashti Chaturthi?
Both belong to Lord Ganesha. Vinayaka Chaturthi comes after the new moon in Shukla Paksha and is worshipped at midday. Sankashti Chaturthi comes after the full moon in Krishna Paksha and is observed until moonrise.
Can I do the puja in the evening instead of at midday?
The shastra prefers Madhyahna. If work makes that impossible, do a brief sankalp in the morning, keep the vrat, and perform the full puja during pradosh in the evening. Intention held through the day is what carries the vrat.
Why do the dates differ from the ones my family in India follows?
Tithis begin and end at fixed astronomical moments, which translate to different clock times in Gulf Standard Time than in IST. A tithi that starts late evening in India can fall on the previous day in Dubai. The dates on this page are calculated for Dubai.
What should I offer Lord Ganesha?
Durva grass in twenty one strands, red hibiscus, modak or laddoo, a whole coconut with the husk intact, and camphor for the aarti. Durva is the offering he is said to accept above all others.
Do I have to fast the whole day?
A full fast is traditional but not required. Fruit and milk through the day, or one sattvic meal taken after the puja, is widely accepted, and anyone who is unwell, pregnant or elderly is not expected to fast at all.
Can the same murti be used every month?
Yes. A permanent murti in the home mandir is worshipped every Vinayaka Chaturthi and is not immersed. Only the clay murti installed specially for the ten days of Ganesh Chaturthi goes for visarjan. Since a permanent murti stays put all year, it is worth checking it against the seven Vastu rules for placing Ganesha - direction, height and which way the trunk curves matter more for a fixed murti than for a festival one.
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