The festival of the Sun

Chhath

Chhath is kept six days after Diwali, on the Shashthi of Kartika. Over four days, families thank Surya, the Sun, and Chhathi Maiya for life and health, standing in rivers and ponds to offer arghya to the setting and the rising sun.

Chhath Puja 2026
Sunday 15 November 2026
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Sunday 15 November 2026

Evening arghya

5:28 pm

Sunset, Sunday 15 November

Morning arghya

6:44 am

Sunrise, Monday 16 November

Shashthi begins
11:24 pm, 14 Nov
Shashthi ends
2:02 am, 16 Nov

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

The four days of Chhath

From Nahay Khay to Usha Arghya

  1. Friday 13 November 2026

    Nahay Khay

    Sunrise6:42 am

    The holy bath. The home is cleaned, and the one keeping the vrat bathes, ideally in a river, then eats one pure meal of rice, chana dal and bottle gourd, cooked without onion or garlic.

  2. Saturday 14 November 2026

    Kharna

    Sunset5:28 pm

    A day of fasting without water, broken in the evening after puja with kheer made with jaggery, and roti. Then the fast of about 36 hours, without food or water, begins.

  3. Sunday 15 November 2026

    Sandhya Arghya

    Sunset arghya5:28 pm

    The main day. In the evening, families carry baskets of thekua, fruit and sugarcane to the ghat, and the one keeping the vrat stands in the water to offer arghya to the setting sun.

  4. Monday 16 November 2026

    Usha Arghya

    Sunrise arghya6:44 am

    Before dawn, families return to the ghat to offer arghya to the rising sun. The fast is broken (paran) and the prasad is shared with everyone.

Chhath is kept again in spring, on the Shashthi of Chaitra (Chaiti Chhath), with the same four days.

Why Chhath is kept

Karna and the Sun

Karna, the son of Surya in the Mahabharata, is said to have stood waist-deep in water every day to pray to his father, the Sun. Many trace the Chhath arghya to him.

Draupadi and the Pandavas

Tradition says that when the Pandavas lost their kingdom, Draupadi kept the Chhath vrat on a sage’s advice, and their fortunes returned.

Sita at Munger

In one telling, Sita kept the Chhath fast after Rama’s return to Ayodhya. A temple at Munger in Bihar marks the place where she is believed to have offered arghya.

Chhathi Maiya

Chhathi Maiya is honoured as a mother who protects children. Many believe she is the sister of Surya; others know her as Shashthi, the goddess of the sixth day.

How Chhath is kept

Chhath is known for its discipline and purity. Families follow their own tradition; this is the common way.

  1. Clean the home thoroughly. From Nahay Khay on, food is cooked fresh, without onion or garlic, often on a new or clay stove.
  2. On Kharna evening, offer kheer made with jaggery, and roti, then eat them as prasad. The fast without food or water begins.
  3. Make thekua and other prasad, and fill bamboo soops and dauras (baskets) with fruit, sugarcane, coconut and lamps.
  4. On the third evening, go to a river, pond or tank. Standing in the water, offer arghya of water or milk to the setting sun from the soop while the family sings Chhath songs.
  5. Many families light a kosi at night: a canopy of sugarcane over lamps and clay pots, in the courtyard or at the ghat.
  6. Return before dawn on the fourth day and offer arghya to the rising sun.
  7. Break the fast (paran) with water and prasad, and share the prasad with everyone.

What you need

  • Bamboo soop and daura (baskets)
  • Thekua and other homemade prasad
  • Bananas, sugarcane, coconut, citrus and water chestnuts
  • Diyas, ghee and cotton wicks
  • A lota or copper vessel for the arghya
  • Sindoor, rice and a red cloth
  • New clothes for the one keeping the vrat

Across India and beyond

Customs vary by region and family

Bihar

The heart of Chhath. River ghats in Patna and every town fill with lamps and songs on both arghya days.

Jharkhand

Kept with the same four days at rivers, lakes and ponds across the state.

Eastern Uttar Pradesh

The ghats of Varanasi and the banks of the Ganga fill with families at sunset and dawn.

Nepal

Kept widely in the Terai, especially around Janakpur, and in Kathmandu.

Around the world

Families keep Chhath at rivers, lakes and beaches in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, and in Mauritius, Fiji, the Caribbean, the UK, the US and Australia.

Chhath in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2026Sunday 15 November 2026Evening arghya 5:28 pm
  2. 2027Thursday 4 November 2027Evening arghya 5:34 pm
  3. 2028Monday 23 October 2028Evening arghya 5:43 pm

Questions

When is Chhath Puja in 2026?

Sunday 15 November 2026, in New Delhi. It is kept over four days: Nahay Khay on Friday 13 November, Kharna on Saturday 14 November, the evening arghya on Sunday 15 November and the morning arghya on Monday 16 November.

What time is the Chhath arghya?

In New Delhi, the evening arghya (Sandhya Arghya) is offered at sunset, 5:28 pm on Sunday 15 November, and the morning arghya (Usha Arghya) at sunrise, 6:44 am on Monday 16 November. The times above are for your city.

Who is worshipped at Chhath?

Surya, the sun god, and Chhathi Maiya, the mother goddess of Chhath, who is believed to protect children and grant long life and well-being.

How long is the Chhath fast?

After the Kharna meal on the second evening, those keeping the vrat go without food or water for about 36 hours, until they offer the morning arghya to the rising sun on the fourth day.

What is thekua?

The best-known Chhath prasad: a crisp sweet of wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, often with coconut and fennel, offered in the soop with fruit and sugarcane.

Around Chhath

All festivals and vrats →