Hindu observances · संकष्टी चतुर्थी

Sankashti Chaturthi
what is eaten, and how to hold it

Almanac entry

संकष्टी चतुर्थीSankashti Chaturthi

Hindu observances · Moderate · dates announced locally

The fourth day of the waning fortnight in every lunar month, so once a month.

The struck span is the part of the day held without food, from sunrise to moonrise, as commonly observed. Households differ, and where they differ the difference is the practice, not an error.

SOURCE·Published accounts of Sankashti Chaturthi as commonly observed·customs differ by family, region and sampradaya·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How long Sankashti Chaturthi runs

12–14hours

As commonly observed. The exact length turns on your date and where you are, and this site publishes no times. Monthly, broken after moonrise. A day fast dedicated to Ganesha, kept until the moon is sighted, then broken — customarily with modak or another offering.

As the dataset states it: From sunrise to moonrise, commonly 12 to 14 hours, ending late in the evening.

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·Sankashti Chaturthi entry·REVIEWED JUL 2026

What Sankashti Chaturthi is

Sankashti Chaturthi is a monthly Ganesha observance, kept most widely in Maharashtra and across western and southern India. The fast is broken only after the moon is sighted, which in most months means a late evening meal.

Because it recurs monthly, it functions as a regular rhythm rather than an event — twelve or thirteen long-day fasts a year, each ending late. Angarki Chaturthi, when it falls on a Tuesday, is kept more widely still.

Customs vary. Whether the day is kept on fruit alone or with one phalahar meal, and what is prepared for the evening, differ by household — Maharashtrian practice around modak is distinct from practice elsewhere.

How this entry is drawn, and how the food is counted

The observance is read from published accounts of Sankashti Chaturthi and written as commonly observed — never as required, never as correct. Where households differ, the entry says they differ.
The arc above places the observed span between named stations of the day — sunrise, midday, sunset, moonrise — and never between times. Sehri, iftar, moonrise and sunset are local and religiously significant, and this site publishes none of them.
The length is taken from the range the dataset itself states, as a range. Where the length turns on latitude and season, no duration is printed at all.
Food energy is per the serving each item is really eaten in, from IFCT 2017 (ICMR–NIN) where the table has the food, and from a named alternative where it does not.
Every food is reconciled against Atwater factors on each build, and a page that fails to reconcile does not ship.

serving kcal  =  per-100 g kcal × (serving g ÷ 100)
energy check  =  4·protein + 4·carbohydrate + 9·fat   (±15%, ±20% high-fibre)
day shape     =  observed span, station → station   (no clock times, ever)

Data & method in full →

What is customarily eaten, and what is set aside

Described as commonly observed. Your own family's practice is the one that applies.

Commonly eaten

Fruit, milk and permitted vrat foods through the day, in many households
Sabudana, peanuts, potato and coconut are common where a meal is taken
Modak and coconut-based prasad after moonrise

Customarily set aside

Grains and pulses
Table salt, onion and garlic
Meat, fish, eggs and alcohol

SOURCE·Published accounts of Sankashti Chaturthi·reported, not prescribed; regional practice varies and the variation is the practice·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The food, with the numbers

Foods commonly associated with Sankashti Chaturthi, at the serving each is really eaten in. Every one has its own page with the full breakdown.

Commonly eaten during Sankashti Chaturthi — calories and macros per real serving. IFCT 2017 · JUL 2026
Food	One serving is	Calories	Protein	Carbs
Sabudana Khichdi	1 plate · 150 g	321 kcal	3.8 g	47.4 g
Peanuts (Moongphali)	1 small handful · 25 g	141 kcal	6.3 g	4.0 g
Fresh Coconut (Nariyal)	1 piece · 30 g	107 kcal	1.1 g	3.0 g
Boiled Potato	1 medium potato · 120 g	84 kcal	1.8 g	17.9 g
Cow Milk (full cream)	1 glass · 200 g	124 kcal	6.4 g	9.0 g
Banana	1 medium banana · 100 g	105 kcal	1.3 g	24.0 g
Makhana (Fox Nuts), raw	1 katori · 25 g	87 kcal	2.4 g	19.2 g
Curd (Dahi)	1 katori · 150 g	90 kcal	4.7 g	4.5 g

One serving of each of these 8 items would come to about 1,058 kcal — a scale check, not a menu. Sankashti Chaturthi is not a calorie target and this table is not a plan.

What the vrat foods cost, counted per serving rather than per 100 g.

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·per stated serving weight·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How to hold it without wrecking the week

This is the part nobody publishes well. None of it asks you to change the observance — training, sleep and meal timing are the variables you control, and the fast is not.

Training

A monthly long-day fast is easy to train through for most people, particularly if the session is in the morning. The evening is the harder part, because moonrise can be late and hunger peaks well before it.

Sleep

A late, heavy meal after moonrise is the only real sleep risk. Keeping the first thing eaten light and the fuller meal earlier, where custom allows, helps.

Blood sugar

A once-monthly long fast is worth mentioning to your doctor if you take glucose-lowering medication, particularly because the end time shifts every month with moonrise.

Hydration

Water is permitted in most versions and there is no reason to restrict it. A 13-hour fast without fluid in the heat is a different matter — if your observance is nirjala, treat it like Karva Chauth.

The specific risk with Sankashti Chaturthi

The moonrise time moves each month and can be considerably later than expected. Knowing your local moonrise in advance prevents a much longer fast than you planned for, which is where problems start for people on medication.

Who should not fast · Fasting and blood sugar · Hydration during fasting · Sources

Questions asked about Sankashti Chaturthi

When exactly does the fast end?

At local moonrise, which changes every month and differs by city. Check a local panchang or your community's announcement — it is not a fixed clock time, and this site deliberately does not compute it.

Is sabudana khichdi the standard meal?

It is very common in Maharashtra, where the observance is most widely kept. It is also energy-dense — a plate is around 350 kcal — so if the fast is being kept alongside a weight goal, that is worth knowing.

Related observances

Sharad NavratriNine days, the longest vrat most people keep Chaitra NavratriSpring Navratri, ending at Ram Navami EkadashiTwice a month, the most frequently kept vrat of all Nirjala EkadashiWithout water — the most demanding fast in the Hindu year Karva ChauthSunrise to moonrise, kept without water in its full form Maha ShivratriA day fast followed by a night of jagran Paryushan ParvaEight or ten days of the most structured fasting in India Ayambil OliNine days of a single bland meal Ramzan (Ramadan) RozaA month of daily fasting from dawn to sunset

Guides that apply here

Who should not fast Hydration during fasting Training while fasting Breaking a fast Fasting and blood sugar Fasting and sleep Protein during a vrat Lighter vrat food, same rules

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·observance accounts and food composition·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Practices are described as commonly observed; customs differ by family, region, community and sampradaya, and this site is not an authority on any of them. Food values come from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR–NIN), the older ICMR–NIN tables, USDA FoodData Central, named composition studies and the shared ThaliFacts dataset, reconciled against Atwater factors on every build. Which source applies to which food is listed per food, and every source carries the date it was last checked. General information only — not medical or religious guidance. Fasting is not safe for everyone, particularly during pregnancy or with diabetes or other conditions. Speak to a doctor first.

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