Mangal and the Angaraki Chaturthi

Among the twelve or thirteen Sankashti Chaturthis observed each year, one is held in particularly high regard: Angaraki Chaturthi, the rare occasion when Sankashti Chaturthi falls on a Tuesday, the day sacred to Mangal, the planet Mars.

A Rare Alignment

Because the lunar calendar rarely aligns Chaturthi precisely with a Tuesday, Angaraki Chaturthi occurs only occasionally within a given year, and its rarity is itself part of why devotees regard it as especially auspicious.

Doubled Devotion

Tradition holds that observing the Sankashti fast on this particular convergence carries heightened merit, the discipline of the vow joined to the specific energy associated with Tuesday and Mangal. Devotees who are able to keep the fast on this day often do so with particular care and preparation, aware of how infrequently the alignment occurs.

What Devotees Seek

Devotees facing especially stubborn or long-standing obstacles often wait for an Angaraki Chaturthi to renew their vow, seeking the combined grace this rarer, more potent observance is believed to carry.