Chhath Puja is the great festival of Surya Dev, the Sun, and Chhathi Maiya, celebrated with deep devotion in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal’s Terai, and wherever families from these regions now live, from Delhi’s Yamuna ghats to Mumbai’s Juhu beach. It falls six days after Diwali, and its central day is the Shashthi (sixth day) of Kartik Shukla Paksha. In 2026, the evening arghya is on Sunday, 15 November.
Chhath Puja 2026 dates
| Day | Ritual | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahay Khay: holy bath and a single sattvic meal | Friday, 13 November |
| 2 | Kharna: day-long fast, broken at night with rasiya-kheer and roti | Saturday, 14 November |
| 3 | Sandhya Arghya: offering to the setting Sun at the ghat | Sunday, 15 November |
| 4 | Usha Arghya: offering to the rising Sun, then the fast is broken | Monday, 16 November |
Sunset and sunrise times for the arghya vary by city; see today’s panchang for yours.
The four days of Chhath
Nahay Khay. The vratin (the one keeping the fast, usually the mother of the house) bathes in a river or pond, cleans the house thoroughly, and eats one meal of rice, chana dal and lauki (bottle gourd) cooked in ghee with rock salt, without onion or garlic.
Kharna. She fasts all day, then after sunset offers and eats rasiya-kheer (rice cooked in milk with jaggery) and roti, which is shared as prasad. From this moment the 36-hour nirjala fast begins: no food, no water.
Sandhya Arghya. In the afternoon the family carries the bamboo baskets (daura and soop) laden with thekua, fruit, sugarcane and diyas to the ghat. Standing waist-deep in water, the vratin offers arghya of milk and water to the setting Sun while the family and neighbours sing the Chhath geet.
Usha Arghya. Before dawn everyone returns to the ghat and waits in the water for the Sun to rise. After the final arghya, the vratin breaks her fast with ginger and water, and the prasad is shared with everyone.
The story of Chhath
The festival is very old. One tradition holds that Karna, the son of Surya, stood waist-deep in water every day offering arghya to his father. Another tells that Sita kept the Chhath vrat on returning to Ayodhya, and that Draupadi kept it on the advice of the sage Dhaumya when the Pandavas lost their kingdom. At its heart Chhath is thanksgiving to the Sun, the source of all life, and a mother’s prayer for her children.
What makes Chhath special
There is no idol and no priest needed: the vratin worships the Sun directly, in nature. Everything must be spotlessly clean and home-made; the offerings are seasonal produce of the land. And the whole community joins in, cleaning ghats and roads, carrying the baskets for the vratins, and singing together at the water’s edge.
Chhath samagri
Bamboo soop and daura, thekua, rice laddoo (kasar), bananas, sugarcane with leaves, coconut, sweet lime and other seasonal fruit, fresh ginger and turmeric plants, sweet potato, a brass or copper lota for arghya, milk, diyas and ghee, sindoor, and new clothes for the vratin.
Frequently asked questions
What are the dates of Chhath Puja 2026?
Nahay Khay is on Friday, 13 November 2026; Kharna on Saturday, 14 November; the Sandhya Arghya to the setting Sun on Sunday, 15 November (Kartik Shukla Shashthi); and the Usha Arghya to the rising Sun on Monday, 16 November, after which the fast is broken.
Who is Chhathi Maiya?
Chhathi Maiya is worshipped as the sister of Surya, the Sun god, and as Shashthi Devi, the goddess who protects children. Women pray to her for the health and long life of their children and family.
Why is the Sun worshipped at sunset on Chhath?
Chhath is one of the few festivals in which the setting Sun is worshipped as well as the rising Sun. It is a thanksgiving for the Sun's gift of life and the harvest, and a prayer that he will rise again; the evening arghya honours what has been received and the morning one welcomes what is to come.
What is thekua?
Thekua is the main prasad of Chhath, a crisp sweet made of wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, pressed into a wooden mould and fried. It is placed in the bamboo soop with fruits such as banana, sugarcane, coconut and sweet lime for the arghya.