Sankashti Chaturthi in Bhadrapada month — Heramba is a five-headed form of Ganesha, worshipped for protection.

Heramba Sankashti Chaturthi is the Sankashti Chaturthi of the month of Bhadrapada, when Ganesha is invoked as Heramba — the five-faced, lion-riding form who protects the weak and the helpless. Heramba is described as boon-giving and fearless, and this Sankashti is regarded as particularly potent for those facing a threat they cannot meet by their own strength: a legal case, a powerful adversary, or a family crisis. It falls shortly before Ganesh Chaturthi, and in many households the observance also serves as the opening of the Ganesha season. As with every Sankashti, the fast runs from sunrise and is broken only after the moon has risen and been offered arghya.

Fast from sunrise to moonrise. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, where the day is also Bahula Chauth, observers additionally abstain from milk and milk products in deference to the calves.