An idol of Lord Ganesha. PTI

The day of Sankashti Chaturthi is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The Sankashti Chaturthi tithi starts on 2 March at 05:46 am and it ends on March 3 at 2:59 am.

It’s also called Dwijapriya Sankashti Ganesh Chaturthi when it falls in the month of Phalguna, according to the Purnimant calendar.

On Tuesday, 2 March, worshipers will observe a fast and break it only after offering prayers to Lord Ganesha following the moon rise. When the occasion falls on a Tuesday, it’s also called Angarika Chaturthi, considered particularly auspicious among all the Sanakashti days.

The moonrise or Chandrodaya is of particular importance, for they can’t break their fast before it. Here’s a list of cities with moonrise timings:

City-wise Moonrise Timing

Mumbai 9:53 PM

Navi Mumbai 9:52 PM

Hyderabad 9:29 PM

Vishakhapatnam 9:09 PM

Nashik 9:50 PM

Nagpur 9:28 PM

Indore 9:43 PM

Pune 9:48 PM

Chennai 9:19 PM

Coimbatore 9:31 PM

Bengaluru 9:30 PM

Mysuru 9:33 PM

Thiruvananthapuram 9:30 PM

Delhi 9:41 PM

Bhubaneshwar 9:00 PM

Bhopal 9:36 PM

Kanpur 9:26 PM

Chandigarh 9:44 PM

Surat 9:54 PM

Ahmedabad 9:56 PM

Jaipur 9:46 PM

Udaipur 9:53 PM

Jodhpur 9:57 PM

Guwahati 8:38 PM

Kolkata 8:50 PM

According to Hindu beliefs, Angarak, who was the son of Mother Earth and Bharadwaj Rishi, was a great bhakt (devotee) of Lord Ganesha. He repeatedly prayed to the Lord and asked for his blessings. The Lord answered his call and blessed him on Magh Krishna Chaturthi. Lord Ganesha also asked Angarak to make a wish. To this, Angarak only wished for his name to be associated with Lord Ganesha forever. The wish was granted. Lord Ganesha said any worshipper who prays on Angarika Chaturthi will have his wishes granted.

And ever since that day, Magh Krishna Chaturthi has come to be known as Angarak Chaturthi.

Devotees believe Lord Ganesh will answer their call just as he granted the wish of Angarak rishi. Since Ganesha, the Supreme Lord of intelligence, epitomises someone who removes all the impediments, the devotees believe that observing a fast and offering prayers would help rid themselves of all the problems they are facing in their lives.