Autumn festival · Surya and Chhathi Maiya

Chhath Puja (Surya Shashthi)

Four days of purity, fasting and thanks to the setting and rising Sun.

Chhath Puja is a four-day observance in honour of the Sun (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya, the mother goddess who is believed to protect children and families. Its main day falls on Kartika Shukla Shashthi, the sixth day of the bright half of Kartika, a few days after Diwali. Devotees offer water and seasonal produce to the setting Sun in the evening and to the rising Sun the next morning, usually while standing in a river, pond or other water body.

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Chhath Puja

Date: Sun, 15 Nov, 2026
Tithi: Kartika Shukla Shashthi
Sandhya Arghya: 04:57 PM – 05:27 PM
Deity: Surya and Chhathi Maiya

Times for New Delhi. Change the city below.

When to do the puja

Chhath Puja muhurat and timings

Timings for New Delhi, Delhi

Date

Sun, 15 Nov, 2026

Tithi at sunrise

Shashthi (Shukla)

Sunrise

06:43 AM

Sunset

05:27 PM

Best time for Chhath Puja

Sandhya Arghya: around sunset

04:57 PM – 05:27 PM

Duration 30 min

Other auspicious timings

Usha Arghya: around next sunrise
06:14 AM, 16 Nov – 06:59 AM, 16 Nov

Tithi, nakshatra and key moments

Shashthi tithi
11:24 PM, 14 Nov – 02:01 AM, 16 Nov
Abhijit Muhurat
11:44 AM – 12:27 PM
Amrit Kaal
04:15 PM – 06:04 PM
Sandhya Arghya (sunset)
Evening offering to the setting Sun.
05:27 PM
Usha Arghya (next sunrise)
Morning offering to the rising Sun; the fast ends after it.
06:44 AM, 16 Nov

Inauspicious times: avoid starting the puja

Varjyam
05:26 AM – 07:14 AM
Yamaganda
12:05 PM – 01:26 PM
Gulika Kaal
02:46 PM – 04:07 PM
Rahu Kaal
04:07 PM – 05:27 PM
Varjyam
03:57 AM, 16 Nov – 05:44 AM, 16 Nov

Choghadiya for the day and night

Day

Udveg06:43 AM – 08:04 AM
Chal08:04 AM – 09:24 AM
Labh09:24 AM – 10:45 AM
Amrit10:45 AM – 12:05 PM
Kaal12:05 PM – 01:26 PM
Shubh01:26 PM – 02:46 PM
Rog02:46 PM – 04:07 PM
Udveg04:07 PM – 05:27 PM

Night

Shubh05:27 PM – 07:07 PM
Amrit07:07 PM – 08:46 PM
Chal08:46 PM – 10:26 PM
Rog10:26 PM – 12:05 AM, 16 Nov
Kaal12:05 AM, 16 Nov – 01:45 AM, 16 Nov
Labh01:45 AM, 16 Nov – 03:25 AM, 16 Nov
Udveg03:25 AM, 16 Nov – 05:04 AM, 16 Nov
Shubh05:04 AM, 16 Nov – 06:44 AM, 16 Nov

Calculated for New Delhi, Delhi, India (sidereal Lahiri, local sunrise). Regional and family traditions can differ by a day or in the exact window; follow your family priest where they differ.

Meaning

Significance of Chhath Puja

Chhath is one of the few Hindu festivals in which the Sun itself is worshipped directly, without an idol and usually without a priest. The person keeping the fast (called a vrati or parvaitin) stands in water and offers thanks to the Sun, the visible source of light, warmth, harvest and health. Honouring the setting Sun as well as the rising one is a reminder that every phase of life deserves gratitude.

The festival is known for its discipline and cleanliness. Homes, kitchens, utensils and ghats are cleaned, prasad is cooked separately on a fresh or earthen stove, and the main fast is kept without food or water for about a day and a half. Families often take the vow for the wellbeing of their children, for health, or in thanks for a wish that has been fulfilled.

Chhath is also deeply communal. Neighbours clean the ghats together, relatives travel home from distant cities, and the songs sung on the way to the water are passed down from one generation to the next. Rich and poor stand side by side in the same water with the same simple bamboo baskets of fruit.

The story

Several traditions explain the origin of Chhath. One popular account says that after returning to Ayodhya, Sita and Rama fasted and worshipped the Sun on Kartika Shukla Shashthi. Another links it to the Mahabharata: Karna, the son of Surya, is said to have stood in water every day offering prayers to his father, and Draupadi is said to have worshipped the Sun with the Pandavas during their hardship.

Chhathi Maiya is widely identified with Shashthi Devi, a goddess who protects infants and young children, and in folk songs she is often described as the sister of the Sun. This is why many mothers keep the Chhath fast for the long life and health of their children, and why the festival's songs speak of her with such affection.

One festival, many traditions

How Chhath Puja is celebrated across India

Central and South Bihar (Magadh and Bhojpur)

Lakhs of devotees gather at the Ganga ghats in Patna and at rivers, ponds and temple tanks across the region. The Sun temple at Deo in Aurangabad district draws large crowds for both arghyas. Families carry the offerings in bamboo baskets (daura) on their heads, singing Chhath songs on the way, and the vrati makes the offering from a winnowing basket (soop) piled with thekua, fruits and sugarcane.

Why it matters there: For many families in Bihar, Chhath is the most important festival of the year, and people working elsewhere make a point of coming home for it.

Mithila (North Bihar and the Terai of Nepal)

In towns such as Darbhanga, Madhubani and Janakpur, Chhath is kept at village ponds and rivers with Maithili songs. Families who have had a wish fulfilled perform kosi bharna on the night of Sandhya Arghya, setting up a small canopy of sugarcane stalks with earthen lamps and offerings inside, at home or at the ghat.

Why it matters there: Mithila is traditionally linked with Sita, and the festival is woven into local identity, songs and folk art on both sides of the border.

Jharkhand

In Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and smaller towns, devotees use lakes, dams, rivers and specially prepared ponds for the arghya. The rituals follow the same four-day pattern of Nahay Khay, Kharna and the two arghyas, with local communities decorating the ghats with lights and banana stems.

Why it matters there: In a region with many lakes and reservoirs, Chhath brings whole neighbourhoods to the water's edge and is a shared celebration across communities.

Eastern Uttar Pradesh (Purvanchal)

In Varanasi, Ballia, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur and nearby districts, women and men stand in the Ganga, Ghaghara and Rapti and in local ponds with their soops at sunset and sunrise. Bhojpuri Chhath songs are sung through the evening and before dawn, and many families stay at the ghat late into the night.

Why it matters there: The Bhojpuri-speaking belt shares the festival with Bihar, and its songs describe the vrati's devotion and Chhathi Maiya's blessings for the family.

Big cities (Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata and others)

Migrant families from Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern UP gather at the Yamuna ghats in Delhi, at sea beaches and lakes in Mumbai, and on the Hooghly in Kolkata. Where a natural water body is not close by, residents set up temporary ponds in parks or even fill tubs on rooftops so the vrati can stand in water for the arghya.

Why it matters there: For families far from home, Chhath keeps the link with their roots alive, and city neighbours of other backgrounds increasingly join in.

Step by step

Chhath Puja puja vidhi

1
Day 1, bath and pure meal (Nahay Khay): clean the house and kitchen thoroughly. The vrati bathes, preferably in a river or with clean water at home, and eats one simple sattvic meal, traditionally rice, chana dal and bottle gourd (lauki) cooked without onion or garlic.
2
Day 2, evening offering (Kharna): the vrati fasts through the day. In the evening, after worship, kheer made with jaggery and roti are cooked on a clean stove, offered to Chhathi Maiya and eaten by the vrati, then shared as prasad. From this point the main fast without food or water begins.
3
Day 3, prepare the prasad: through the day, the family makes thekua (wheat flour, jaggery and ghee), rice laddoo and arranges seasonal fruits, sugarcane, coconut and root vegetables in the soop and daura.
4
Before evening, carry the baskets to the river, pond or prepared water body, singing Chhath songs. Clean the spot at the ghat and light a lamp.
5
Evening offering to the setting Sun (Sandhya Arghya): at the Sandhya Arghya time shown above, the vrati stands in the water facing west, holding the soop. Family members pour milk or water over the soop as the offering to the Sun, and the vrati turns around in prayer.
6
Return home or stay at the ghat as per family custom. Families who have taken a vow may perform kosi bharna at night with sugarcane stalks and earthen lamps.
7
Day 4, morning offering to the rising Sun (Usha Arghya): go back to the ghat before dawn with fresh offerings. At the Usha Arghya time shown above, the vrati stands in the water facing east and offers arghya to the rising Sun in the same way.
8
After the morning arghya, pray to Chhathi Maiya for the family's wellbeing, apply sindoor to married women as per custom, and take the blessings of elders.
9
Break the fast (parana): the vrati first takes a little prasad and water, usually ginger or thekua with water, then a light meal.
10
Distribute prasad to family, neighbours and anyone at the ghat. Sharing the prasad widely is considered an essential part of the festival.

Om Suryaya Namah

Salutations to the Sun. A simple mantra that can be repeated while offering arghya.

Ehi Surya Sahasramsho Tejorashe Jagatpate, Anukampaya Mam Bhaktya Grihanarghyam Divakara

Come, O Sun of a thousand rays, store of radiance, lord of the world. Be kind to me and accept this offering made with devotion, O maker of the day.

What you need

Puja samagri (items)

Bamboo winnowing baskets (soop), one or more
Large bamboo basket (daura or dauri) to carry offerings
Thekua made with wheat flour, jaggery and ghee
Rice laddoo (kasar) made from rice flour and jaggery
Sugarcane stalks, ideally with leaves
Whole coconut (with water)
Bananas, including a full bunch if available
Seasonal fruits such as sweet lime, large citron (gagal), oranges and apples
Water chestnut (singhara), sweet potato and radish
Fresh turmeric and ginger plants with leaves
Earthen lamps (diya), ghee and cotton wicks
Copper or brass pot (lota) for milk or water arghya
Raw cow's milk and clean water
Sindoor, roli, rice grains (akshat) and flowers
New or clean clothes for the vrati
Earthen stove or a separate clean stove and new utensils for the prasad

Fasting

Chhath Puja vrat rules

The fast is kept by women and men alike. It is a personal vow and is not compulsory for everyone in the family; others support the vrati by cooking, carrying baskets and keeping the home clean.
On Nahay Khay the vrati eats a single sattvic meal. On Kharna the vrati fasts during the day and eats only the kheer and roti prasad in the evening.
From after the Kharna prasad until after the Usha Arghya, the traditional fast is without food or water (nirjala), roughly a day and a half.
Parana is done after the morning arghya on the fourth day, beginning with a little prasad and water, followed by a light, simple meal.
Onion, garlic, meat, eggs and alcohol are avoided by the whole household during the festival, and prasad is cooked only after bathing.
A long fast without water is demanding. Anyone with diabetes, heart or kidney conditions, low blood pressure, pregnancy, older age or other health concerns should adapt the fast (for example by taking water, fruit or milk) or consult a doctor first. This is general guidance, not medical advice, and an adapted fast kept with sincerity is fully in the spirit of the festival.

Do's and don'ts

What to do, and what to avoid

Do

Clean the home, kitchen and puja area well before Nahay Khay, and help clean the ghat in your locality.
Cook prasad only after bathing, in clean utensils, on a separate stove, and keep it away from everyday food.
Reach the ghat early for both arghyas so the vrati is in the water at the Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya times shown above.
Support the vrati: carry the baskets, arrange warm clothes for the cold morning, and keep children safe near the water.
Sing or play traditional Chhath songs and keep the atmosphere calm and devotional.
Share prasad generously with neighbours, friends and others at the ghat.
Follow local safety instructions at crowded ghats and stay within marked areas in deep or fast-flowing water.

Avoid (inauspicious)

Avoid onion, garlic, non-vegetarian food and alcohol in the household during the four days.
Do not taste the prasad while cooking it or touch it without washing hands; it is offered first to the Sun and Chhathi Maiya.
Do not use plastic or unclean utensils for the prasad; bamboo, brass, copper and earthen ware are traditional.
The arghyas are tied to sunset and sunrise and are not shifted, but for other parts of the puja such as starting the prasad or the Kharna worship, many families avoid Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika, which this page lists as times to avoid.
Do not pollute the river or pond; take back plastic, wrappers and leftover materials, and dispose of flowers and leaves responsibly.
Avoid quarrels, harsh words and loud music at home and at the ghat during the festival.
Do not push a vrati with health problems to keep a waterless fast; an adapted fast is acceptable.

Common questions

Chhath Puja FAQs

Why is the setting Sun worshipped on Chhath?

Chhath is unusual in offering arghya to the setting Sun first and the rising Sun next morning. The tradition sees both as sacred: the evening offering gives thanks for the day and the harvest that has been received, and the morning offering welcomes new light and new beginnings.

Can men keep the Chhath fast?

Yes. Although most vratis are women, many men keep the full four-day fast and stand in the water for both arghyas. The rules of purity and the order of rituals are the same for everyone.

What if there is no river or pond nearby?

Many families in cities perform the arghya at a temporary pond in a park, on a rooftop, or in a large clean tub filled with water in which the vrati can stand. What matters is facing the Sun at the arghya times and offering with devotion.

Can I start Chhath without having done it before?

Traditionally many families begin the vow at a meaningful occasion, such as after a wish is fulfilled, and once started it is often continued for some years. If you are new, it is helpful to observe with an experienced vrati in the family or neighbourhood who can guide you through each day.

What is kosi bharna?

Kosi bharna is a ritual done by families who have made a vow to Chhathi Maiya. A small canopy is made by tying sugarcane stalks together, and earthen lamps, fruits and prasad are placed beneath it on the night of Sandhya Arghya and sometimes again before Usha Arghya.

Is there another Chhath in the year?

Yes. A smaller observance called Chaiti Chhath is kept in the month of Chaitra, in spring, following the same pattern. The Kartika Chhath described on this page is the larger and more widely observed one.