Autumn festival · Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and the Moon

Karwa Chauth (Karaka Chaturthi)

A day-long fast for married life, broken under the rising Moon.

Karwa Chauth is a fast kept mainly by married women for the long life and wellbeing of their husbands and the harmony of the household. It falls on Kartika Krishna Chaturthi, the fourth day of the waning Moon in Kartika (Ashvin in the Amanta calendar), about nine days before Diwali. The day is dedicated to Shiva, Parvati (worshipped as Gauri), Ganesha and the Moon, and the fast is broken after offering water to the Moon at moonrise.

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Karwa Chauth

Date: Thu, 29 Oct, 2026
Tithi: Kartika Krishna Chaturthi
Karwa Chauth Puja: 05:38 PM – 08:13 PM
Deity: Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and the Moon

Times for New Delhi. Change the city below.

When to do the puja

Karwa Chauth muhurat and timings

Timings for New Delhi, Delhi

Date

Thu, 29 Oct, 2026

Tithi at sunrise

Chaturthi (Krishna)

Sunrise

06:30 AM

Sunset

05:38 PM

Best time for Karwa Chauth

Karwa Chauth Puja: Pradosh

05:38 PM – 08:13 PM

Duration 2 h 35 min · Evening worship after sunset, while Chaturthi prevails.

Other auspicious timings

Fasting time (sunrise to moonrise)
06:30 AM – 08:13 PM

Tithi, nakshatra and key moments

Chaturthi tithi
01:07 AM – 10:10 PM
Amrit Kaal
08:17 AM – 09:44 AM
Abhijit Muhurat
11:42 AM – 12:26 PM
Moonrise
Offer arghya to the Moon, then break the fast. Local cloud and terrain can delay sighting.
08:13 PM
Amrit Kaal
01:03 AM, 30 Oct – 02:30 AM, 30 Oct

Inauspicious times: avoid starting the puja

Yamaganda
06:30 AM – 07:54 AM
Gulika Kaal
09:17 AM – 10:41 AM
Rahu Kaal
01:28 PM – 02:51 PM
Varjyam
04:18 PM – 05:45 PM

Choghadiya for the day and night

Day

Shubh06:30 AM – 07:54 AM
Rog07:54 AM – 09:17 AM
Udveg09:17 AM – 10:41 AM
Chal10:41 AM – 12:04 PM
Labh12:04 PM – 01:28 PM
Amrit01:28 PM – 02:51 PM
Kaal02:51 PM – 04:15 PM
Shubh04:15 PM – 05:38 PM

Night

Amrit05:38 PM – 07:15 PM
Chal07:15 PM – 08:51 PM
Rog08:51 PM – 10:28 PM
Kaal10:28 PM – 12:05 AM, 30 Oct
Labh12:05 AM, 30 Oct – 01:41 AM, 30 Oct
Udveg01:41 AM, 30 Oct – 03:18 AM, 30 Oct
Shubh03:18 AM, 30 Oct – 04:54 AM, 30 Oct
Amrit04:54 AM, 30 Oct – 06:31 AM, 30 Oct

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 Karwa Chauth

The name comes from the earthen pot with a spout (karwa, from the Sanskrit karaka) used in the puja, and chauth, meaning the fourth day. The karwa filled with water is offered during the puja and later used to offer water to the Moon. Parvati is worshipped as the ideal of steady devotion in marriage, and the Moon, which governs the mind in Vedic thought, is honoured as the witness of the vow.

Beyond the fast, Karwa Chauth is a festival of togetherness. Women dress in bridal or festive clothes, apply mehndi, gather in the evening to hear the katha and perform the puja together, and families exchange gifts between the woman's parents and her in-laws.

Today many couples observe the day as a shared commitment. Some husbands fast alongside their wives, and some unmarried women keep the fast for a good life partner. The practice is traditional and personal; there is no single correct way to observe it.

The story

The best-known story is of Veeravati, the only sister of seven loving brothers. On her first Karwa Chauth after marriage she was fasting at her parents' home and grew faint with hunger and thirst. Unable to bear her distress, her brothers lit a fire or lamp behind a tree (in some versions using a sieve or mirror) so that it looked like the Moon had risen. Veeravati broke her fast, and soon received news that her husband had fallen gravely ill.

Realising what had happened, Veeravati was filled with remorse. She prayed to Parvati and kept the Chauth fasts of the following year with full devotion. Moved by her sincerity, the goddess blessed her and her husband was restored to health. The story is told at every Karwa Chauth gathering as a reminder of patience, faith and keeping one's word.

One festival, many traditions

How Karwa Chauth is celebrated across India

North-West India (Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh)

Before sunrise the woman eats sargi, a meal of fruits, sweets, dry fruits and savouries sent or prepared by her mother-in-law. In the evening women sit in a circle with their decorated puja thalis, hear the katha, and pass the thalis around the circle several times while singing the traditional Karwa Chauth song (a ritual often called feri). The woman's parents send a gift basket (baya) of clothes, sweets and dry fruits to her in-laws.

Why it matters there: The exchange of sargi and baya ties together the two families joined by marriage, and the shared evening puja is a cherished social occasion for women of the neighbourhood.

Rajasthan

Known as Karwa Chauth (Chauth Mata vrat)

Women worship Gauri along with Chauth Mata, the goddess of the fourth day, and hear the katha in the evening, often from an elder woman of the family. The Chauth Mata temple at Chauth Ka Barwara in Sawai Madhopur district is a major place of pilgrimage for the observance. Karwas filled with water or grain are exchanged among women, and the Moon is offered water before the fast is broken.

Why it matters there: Chauth Mata is worshipped widely in Rajasthan on the Chaturthi of many months, and Karwa Chauth is her most important observance of the year.

Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi

Women set up a picture of Karwa Mata, either drawn by hand on the wall or a printed calendar showing Gauri, the karwa, the Moon and the story's scenes. A small Gauri made of clay or cow dung is placed with Ganesha on a raised seat. In the evening the katha is read, the karwa is offered with sweets, and after moonrise the woman looks at the Moon and then at her husband through a sieve (channi).

Why it matters there: The picture and katha keep the Veeravati story alive in each home, and the sieve ritual has become one of the best-known images of the festival.

Madhya Pradesh and parts of Central India

Karwa Chauth is widely observed in towns and cities, with women gathering at a home or temple for the evening katha and puja and offering water to the Moon from the karwa. Families from many communities now take part, often blending North Indian customs such as sargi with local ones.

Why it matters there: The festival has spread steadily across Central India, where it is valued as a family occasion as much as a religious one.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (a related observance)

Known as Atla Taddi

A similar women's fast called Atla Taddi is kept on the Krishna Tritiya of Ashvayuja, about a day before Karwa Chauth. Women and girls rise before dawn to eat, fast through the day, worship Gauri, offer small dosas (atlu) and break the fast after seeing the Moon. Girls also play on swings and sing songs in the early morning.

Why it matters there: Atla Taddi is kept by married women for family wellbeing and by unmarried girls for a good marriage, reflecting the same devotion to Gauri found in Karwa Chauth.

Step by step

Karwa Chauth puja vidhi

1
Wake before sunrise, bathe and, if following the custom, eat sargi with water before the Fasting time (sunrise to moonrise) shown above begins.
2
Make a mental resolve (sankalp) to keep the fast for the wellbeing of your husband and family, praying to Gauri and Ganesha.
3
Spend the day calmly. Many women apply mehndi, prepare the puja thali and keep conversation and activities light to conserve energy.
4
Prepare the puja area: place a picture of Karwa Mata or of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha on a raised seat, with a small Gauri idol made of clay if your family uses one.
5
Fill the karwa with water (some families fill it with grain), cover it, and place it near the deities with a lamp, roli, rice, flowers and sweets.
6
In the Evening Puja (Pradosh) time shown above, sit together with family or other fasting women. Worship Ganesha first, then Gauri, Shiva and the karwa with roli, rice, flowers, sweets and a lamp.
7
Read or listen to the Karwa Chauth katha, holding a few grains of rice or wheat in your hand, which are offered at the end.
8
Give the karwa and some sweets or gifts to your mother-in-law or an elder married woman and touch her feet for blessings, as per family custom.
9
After Moonrise, as shown above, go out where the Moon is visible. Offer water to the Moon from the karwa or a lota, with rice and flowers, and pray for your family.
10
Look at the Moon and then at your husband, through a sieve if that is your custom. Your husband then offers you the first sip of water and a bite of sweet to break the fast.
11
Eat a light, simple meal first and share the prasad with the family.

Mama sukha saubhagya putra-pautradi sushthira shri praptaye Karaka Chaturthi vratam aham karishye

I undertake the Karaka Chaturthi fast for happiness, good fortune in marriage, the wellbeing of children and grandchildren, and lasting prosperity. A traditional resolve (sankalp) said in the morning.

Om Namah Shivaya

Salutations to Shiva. Can be repeated during the day and in the evening puja.

Om Somaya Namah

Salutations to the Moon (Soma). Said while offering water to the Moon.

What you need

Puja samagri (items)

Earthen pot with spout (karwa), two if your family exchanges them
Picture of Karwa Mata or of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha
Small Gauri idol of clay or cow dung (optional, as per custom)
Puja thali
Sieve (channi)
Copper or brass lota for the Moon's arghya
Earthen or brass lamp (diya), ghee or oil and cotton wicks
Roli or kumkum, haldi and sindoor
Rice grains (akshat) and a few grains of wheat for the katha
Flowers and a small garland
Sweets such as mathri, laddoo or halwa
Fruits and dry fruits
Incense sticks (agarbatti)
Red cloth or chunri for Gauri
Shringar items such as bangles, bindi and mehndi
Karwa Chauth katha book

Fasting

Karwa Chauth vrat rules

The fast is traditionally kept by married women; some husbands and unmarried women also keep it by choice.
Sargi, if your family follows the custom, is eaten before sunrise. The fast then lasts through the Fasting time (sunrise to moonrise) shown above.
In much of North India the traditional fast is without food or water (nirjala). In many families it is common to take water, milk, tea or fruit during the day; follow your family custom and your own health.
The fast is broken after the Moon has risen and been offered water. If the Moon is hidden by clouds, many families break the fast at the Moonrise time shown above after offering water facing the direction of the Moon, or follow the guidance of an elder.
Break the fast gently with water and a sweet, followed by a light meal rather than heavy, fried food.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, and anyone with diabetes, low blood pressure, kidney problems or other health concerns, should not keep a waterless fast. Adapt it with water, milk or fruit, or consult a doctor first. This is general guidance, not medical advice, and an adapted fast kept sincerely is fully valid in spirit.

Do's and don'ts

What to do, and what to avoid

Do

Eat a nourishing sargi with plenty of fluids before sunrise if your family follows the custom.
Wear festive clothes, preferably red, maroon or other bright colours, and apply mehndi if you like.
Do the evening puja and hear the katha in the Evening Puja (Pradosh) time shown above, ideally with other women of the family or neighbourhood.
Take the blessings of your mother-in-law and other elders.
Offer water to the Moon after Moonrise before breaking the fast.
Keep the day calm and rest when needed; avoid strenuous work.

Avoid (inauspicious)

Do not break the fast before the Moon has risen and been worshipped, unless you need to for health reasons.
Avoid starting the main evening puja during Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda or Gulika, which this page lists as times to avoid; choose a time within the Evening Puja (Pradosh) window instead.
Many families avoid using scissors, needles and sewing on Karwa Chauth day; follow your household's custom.
Avoid quarrels, harsh words and gossip during the fast.
Do not waste food; prepare only what the family will eat after moonrise.
Do not pressure anyone, especially someone who is unwell or pregnant, to keep a waterless fast.

Common questions

Karwa Chauth FAQs

What should I do if the Moon is not visible because of clouds?

Many families wait a little after the Moonrise time shown above. If the Moon still cannot be seen, it is customary to offer water facing the direction where the Moon would be, or to look at the Moon in a picture or idol of Shiva (who wears it on his head), and then break the fast. Follow the guidance of an elder in your family.

Can unmarried women keep the Karwa Chauth fast?

Yes. Some unmarried women, especially engaged women, keep the fast with prayers for a good life partner. Some families suggest a lighter fast for unmarried girls and breaking it on seeing the stars rather than the Moon.

Can husbands fast too?

Yes. There is no rule against it, and many husbands now fast alongside their wives as a shared gesture of care. The puja and Moon arghya can be done together.

Can I drink water during the Karwa Chauth fast?

The strictest tradition is a fast without water, but in many families water, tea or milk are taken during the day. Your health comes first; if you have any medical condition or are pregnant, keeping a lighter fast is entirely acceptable.

What is sargi and who gives it?

Sargi is a pre-dawn meal, a custom especially strong in Punjabi families. It is traditionally sent or prepared by the mother-in-law and usually includes fruits, dry fruits, sweets, mathri and something filling to sustain the woman through the day.

Is the puja done at a fixed time?

The evening puja is done in the Evening Puja (Pradosh) window shown above for your city, and the Moon is worshipped after the Moonrise time shown. Both are calculated for your location, so moonrise may differ by several minutes between cities.