FestivalBhadrapada Shukla Tritiya

Hartalika Teej 2027

हरतालिका तीज

On Hartalika Teej women keep a nirjala fast and worship sand images of Shiva and Parvati, recalling how Parvati's friends led her to the forest to win Shiva.

Next: Friday, 3 September 2027

Quick answer

Hartalika Teej 2027 falls on Friday, 3 September 2027 (Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya). In 2026 it fell on Monday, 14 September 2026.

Dates follow the Delhi panchang and can shift by a day in your region, so confirm the muhurat with a local panchang.

Hartalika Teej 2027 falls on Friday, 3 September, the third day of the bright half of Bhadrapada, the day before Ganesh Chaturthi. It is the strictest of the monsoon Teej festivals: married women keep a nirjala fast, without food or water, for a full day and night, and worship Parvati and Shiva in images shaped from sand or clay. Unmarried girls keep it to pray for a husband as devoted as Shiva. It is widely observed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Hartalika Teej 2027 date

Hartalika Teej 2027 is on Friday, 3 September 2027 (Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya). In 2026 it fell on Monday, 14 September. The puja is usually done in the early morning or the evening pradosh time, and the fast is broken the next morning.

The story behind the name

The name joins “harat” (taking away) and “aalika” (female friend). The vrat katha tells that Parvati’s father, Himavan, promised her in marriage to Vishnu, but Parvati had already given her heart to Shiva. To save her from the match, her friends took her away into a dense forest. There, on Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya, Parvati shaped a linga from sand and worshipped it through the night, fasting without food or water. Moved by her devotion, Shiva appeared and accepted her as his wife. Her long penance for Shiva is told in the Shiva Purana; the Hartalika katha that names this day belongs to the vrat tradition.

How Hartalika Teej is observed

Nirjala fast: from sunrise on Tritiya until the next morning, often with a night vigil (jagaran) of songs and prayers.
Sand images: Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha are shaped from sand or clay and placed under a canopy of banana leaves and flowers.
Puja: bel leaves, dhatura, flowers, sandal and suhag items such as bangles, sindoor and a sari are offered to Parvati.
Katha: women gather to hear the Hartalika katha before the evening puja.
Visarjan: the images are immersed the next morning and the fast is broken.

The meaning of Hartalika Teej

Hartalika Teej honours a woman who chose her own path and held to it with courage and faith. Parvati’s friendship with her companions is part of the story too. Also see Hariyali Teej and the full Hindu festival calendar.