Sankashti Chaturthi 2020: From timings to puja vidhi, everything you need to know about the festival

Image used for representation only (Courtesy: Pixabay)

New Delhi: India today (July 8) celebrates Gajanana Sankashti Chaturthi. There are two Chaturthis in every lunar month as per the Hindu calendar - one falls during the Krishna Paksha after Purnima and is called Sankashti Chaturthi and the other that is marked on Shukla Paksha after Amavasya is called Vinayaka Chaturthi. This month, the auspicious day falls on Wednesday.

As per drigpanchang.com, Sankashti Chaturthi timing begins at 9.18 am on July 8 and ends at 10.11 am on July 9. The moon will rise at 10 pm today.

On this day, devotees worship Lord Ganesha and seek his blessings. Lord Ganesha has different names such as Vighnaharta, Vinayaka, Ganapati or Ganesha.

Devotees observing a vrat today get up early and take a bath, take the blessing of Lord Ganesh, offer him prasad. One can break the fast only after seeing the moon and performing puja and reciting Ganesh Mantra. 

Devotees believe that their wishes will be fulfilled and Vighnaharta will remove all the obstacles in their life as Lord Ganesha symbolises that.

It is widely celebrated in Western and Southern India, especially in the state of Maharashtra where even Ganesh Chaturthi is an eleven-day long festival.