Name: Ganesh Visarjana
Start: 2026-09-25
End: 2026-09-25
Location: India

Ganesh Visarjan 2026: Date, Shubh Chogadiya, Visarjan Vidhi and Significance

Ganesh Visarjan 2026 falls on Friday, September 25, 2026, marking the end of the ten-day Ganeshotsav festival. Also known as Anant Chaturdashi, this is the day when the Ganesha idol is carried through the streets in a grand procession before being immersed in a river, lake, or sea. The chant of Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya fills every neighbourhood as families and community groups bid farewell to Lord Ganesha. Below you will find the exact Visarjan date, Tithi timing, Shubh Chogadiya, step-by-step Visarjan vidhi, and everything you need to observe Ganesh Visarjan this year.

Ganesh Visarjan 2026 At a Glance

Ganesh Visarjan Date and Tithi 2026

Ganesh Visarjan is observed on Chaturdashi Tithi of Shukla Paksha in the Bhadrapada month, the fourteenth day after the festival begins on Chaturthi. This year, the Tithi begins at Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 11:18 PM and ends at Friday, September 25, 2026 at 11:06 PM, with Visarjan taking place on Friday, September 25, 2026.

The Shubh Chogadiya for Ganesh Visarjan this year is Chal: 06:29 AM to 07:59 AM,
Laabh: 07:59 AM to 09:30 AM,
Amrit: 09:30 AM to 11:01 AM,
Shubh: 12:31 PM to 02:02 PM,
Chal: 05:03 PM to 06:34 PM,
Laabh: 09:33 PM to 11:02 PM. Performing the Visarjan puja and beginning the procession during this window is considered the most auspicious time. Chogadiya is a Vedic time calculation that divides the day into auspicious and inauspicious periods, and the Shubh Chogadiya slot is the one families traditionally prefer for starting the Visarjan rituals.

What Is Ganesh Visarjan?

Ganesh Visarjan, also called Ganpati Visarjan, is the immersion of the Ganesha idol in water on the final day of Ganeshotsav. The word Visarjan means farewell or departure, and the ritual marks Ganesha's return to his divine abode after spending ten days among his devotees. Families who installed the idol at home on Ganesh Chaturthi bid him a formal goodbye on this day through prayers, aarti, and the procession to the water body.

Not every household does the Visarjan on the tenth day. Many families immerse the idol after one and a half days, known as Dhed Divsi Visarjan, while others choose the fifth or seventh day. The tenth day, Anant Chaturdashi, is the biggest and most public Visarjan, particularly in Maharashtra, where entire neighbourhoods come together for the final procession.

The Story and Meaning Behind Ganesh Visarjan:

The belief behind Visarjan is rooted in the idea that Lord Ganesha is welcomed as a guest into the home for the duration of the festival. Just as any guest is honoured with food, prayers, and care, Ganesha is offered daily puja, Modak, and Durva grass through the ten days. When the festival ends, he is sent off with the same care and devotion with which he was welcomed.

The immersion in water carries a deeper meaning as well. The clay idol dissolving back into water symbolises the Hindu concept of the cycle of creation and dissolution everything that is created from the five elements eventually returns to them. Ganesha in idol form is worshipped, and at Visarjan the form dissolves, but the deity himself is omnipresent and continues to bless his devotees. The chant Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya. "Dear Ganpati, please come back soon next year" captures this feeling of temporary separation rather than a permanent goodbye.

Shubh Chogadiya for Ganesh Visarjan 2026

Chogadiya is a traditional Vedic method of dividing the day into time slots based on planetary positions. Each slot is classified as either auspicious or inauspicious for performing specific tasks. For Ganesh Visarjan, the Shubh Chogadiya is the recommended window for starting the puja before the procession and for the actual immersion.

This year, the Shubh Chogadiya for Ganesh Visarjan falls at Chal: 06:29 AM to 07:59 AM,
Laabh: 07:59 AM to 09:30 AM,
Amrit: 09:30 AM to 11:01 AM,
Shubh: 12:31 PM to 02:02 PM,
Chal: 05:03 PM to 06:34 PM,
Laabh: 09:33 PM to 11:02 PM. Families observing traditional timings should plan to begin the farewell puja and start the procession within this window. If circumstances make it difficult to follow the exact Chogadiya timing, the Visarjan can be done at any point during the active Chaturdashi Tithi.

Ganesh Visarjan Puja Vidhi:

Before the procession begins, a farewell puja is performed at home in front of the idol. Here is the full sequence:

Start by cleaning the puja space and lighting a fresh diya. Offer Modak, red hibiscus flowers, Durva grass, coconut, and fruits to Ganesha one final time. Apply fresh Kumkum and Haldi to the idol. Perform aarti with the Ganesh aarti song, and then recite the Ganesh Atharvashirsha or chant Om Gan Ganapataye Namah 21 times.

After the prayers are done, apply a tilak of Kumkum on the idol's forehead as a final mark of respect. Offer Dakshina — either coins or a symbolic offering — to complete the puja. Then perform the Uttarpuja, where you request Ganesha's permission to end the puja period by saying a short prayer asking for his blessings as he departs.

Once the home puja is complete, the idol is lifted and carried out for the procession. In many households, it is wrapped in a fresh cloth or decorated with flowers before being taken out. The eldest member of the family or the person who performed the puja through the festival typically carries the idol to the water.

Ganesh Visarjan Procession:

The procession to the water body is one of the most energetic parts of Ganeshotsav. Families carry the idol through the streets while playing dhol, tasha, and other percussion instruments. Devotees dance, sing bhajans, and chant Ganpati Bappa Morya throughout the walk to the ghat or water body.

In many communities, especially in Maharashtra, the neighbourhood's community pandal Ganesha is carried together with dozens or hundreds of smaller household idols in a single large procession. Streets that are lined with people throwing flower petals and waving are a common sight during large Visarjan processions in cities like Mumbai and Pune.

When the procession reaches the water, the idol is carried in — either by wading into the water or placing it near the bank and then gently submerged. Many families wait and watch until the idol fully dissolves or disappears from sight before returning home.

Ganesh Visarjan Mantra:

The following mantra is traditionally recited during Visarjan before the idol is immersed:

Yanti Deva Pitarah Sarvey Pujitaa Matrukaadayah,
Truptimaapuh Kriyaakaale Yasyeyam Visarjankriyaa.

This mantra is a prayer requesting Ganesha to accept the farewell with the same grace with which he accepted the welcome, and to carry the devotee's prayers with him as he departs.

After the immersion, many families also recite:

Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya

Said collectively by everyone present, this is less a formal mantra and more a heartfelt request that Ganesha returns the following year to bless the household once again.

Eco-Friendly Ganesh Visarjan:

Over the past several years, the move toward eco-friendly Ganesh Visarjan has grown steadily, driven by concerns about plaster of paris idols releasing harmful chemicals into rivers, lakes, and the sea. Natural clay idols dissolve cleanly in water, while PoP idols do not break down and leave behind toxic residue that harms aquatic life and pollutes the water supply.

Many city authorities now set up designated Visarjan tanks large water-filled containers placed near ghats or in public spaces so that families can perform the immersion without going into open water bodies. Some families have also moved to home Visarjan, where the idol is immersed in a bucket or tub of water at home, and the clay water is then poured into a garden or plant pot.

Seed Ganesha idols, which are made from natural clay embedded with plant seeds, have become popular in recent years. After Visarjan, these idols can be planted in soil where they will germinate, turning the farewell ritual into a new beginning of sorts.

Ganesh Visarjan Across India

Mumbai's Ganesh Visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi is one of the largest public gatherings in India. The immersion of the Lalbaugcha Raja draws massive crowds to the seafront at Girgaon Chowpatty, with the procession sometimes taking the better part of a day to reach the water. The entire city participates, with road closures, police presence, and tens of thousands of idols immersed on the same day.

In Pune, Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati's Visarjan is another major event, with the procession through Pune's lanes drawing large crowds. In Hyderabad and across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Vinayaka Visarjan is observed with city-wide processions that begin early in the morning and continue through the night. In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the immersion happens at local tanks, rivers, or community water bodies, with smaller-scale but equally devout processions.

In North India, Ganesh Visarjan is more of a family affair, with households carrying their idols to the nearest river, tank, or municipal Visarjan point without the large community processions common in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

What Happens After Ganesh Visarjan

After the idol is immersed, many families visit a nearby temple to offer prayers before returning home. The puja platform or chowki where the idol was placed through the festival is cleaned, and the flowers, Modak, and other offerings that remained are typically placed under a tree or in a garden rather than thrown away.

In some households, a small amount of the clay from the idol is saved before Visarjan and kept at home as prasad for the coming year, particularly if the idol was made from natural clay. The diya that was lit through the ten days is either kept burning a little longer as a mark of continuation or respectfully extinguished.

Many families also observe a brief fast on Visarjan day, eating a simple meal after returning from the immersion as a mark of the day's significance. The festival formally ends once the household puja is closed and the chowki is put away, though the memory of Ganpati Bappa's visit tends to stay with most families well into the next weeks.