Chhath Puja 2026

What is Chhath Puja?

Chhath Puja is a four-day Hindu festival devoted to Surya, the Sun God, and to Chhathi Maiya, the goddess worshipped as the protector of children and the giver of health and prosperity. It is celebrated six days after Diwali, on the Shashthi (sixth day) of the bright half of the lunar month of Kartika — which is where the name "Chhath" (six) comes from. It is one of the very few Hindu festivals in which the setting sun is worshipped as well as the rising sun.

Chhath is the most important festival for families from Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal, and today it is celebrated wherever these communities live — from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to Mauritius, the Gulf, the United Kingdom and North America.

Why is Chhath Puja celebrated?

Devotees offer thanks to the Sun for sustaining life on earth and pray for the well-being, long life and success of their families, especially their children. Many people keep the Chhath vrat to fulfil a vow (mannat) — for example after the birth of a child or recovery from illness — and continue it every year once they begin.

Several traditions are linked to the festival. Some trace it to the Ramayana, saying that Lord Rama and Sita kept the fast and worshipped the Sun after returning to Ayodhya. Others connect it to the Mahabharata, to Karna — the son of Surya — who is said to have stood in water every day offering prayers to the Sun, and to Draupadi and the Pandavas, who are said to have observed the vrat during their hardships. Whatever the story a family follows, the heart of Chhath is the same: purity, gratitude and self-discipline.

What are the four days of Chhath Puja?

Day 1 — Nahay Khay

The festival begins with "bathe and eat". The person keeping the fast, called the vrati or parvaitin, bathes — traditionally in a river or pond — and the house is thoroughly cleaned. A single, simple meal is cooked with great care, usually rice, chana dal and lauki (bottle gourd) prepared with ghee and rock salt, without onion or garlic.

Day 2 — Kharna

On the second day the vrati fasts through the day without water. After sunset a special prasad is prepared, traditionally on a new clay stove using mango wood: rasiao kheer (rice cooked in milk and jaggery), roti or puri, and bananas. After offering it to Chhathi Maiya, the vrati eats this prasad, and it is shared with family and neighbours. From this point the vrati begins a nirjala fast — no food or water — of about 36 hours.

Day 3 — Saanjh Arghya (Sandhya Arghya)

The third day is the main day of the festival. At home, the family prepares thekua and other offerings and arranges them with fruits, sugarcane, coconut and seasonal produce in bamboo soops and dauras. In the late afternoon the family walks to the ghat — a riverbank, pond, lake or a specially made water tank — often singing traditional Chhath songs. Standing in the water, the vrati offers arghya (an offering of water and milk) to the setting sun, holding up the soop of offerings. Many families then hold the kosi ritual at night, lighting clay lamps under a canopy of sugarcane.

Day 4 — Pratha Arghya (Usha Arghya)

Before dawn on the fourth day, devotees return to the ghat and wait in the water for sunrise. The vrati offers arghya to the rising sun, prayers are completed, and the fast is broken (parana) with prasad — often a little ginger, water and thekua. Prasad is then distributed to everyone present, and families greet one another with "Chhath Puja ki shubhkamnayein".

What is offered during Chhath Puja?

The offerings are simple, natural and seasonal. The most important prasad is thekua — a crisp sweet made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee. Soops and dauras are filled with sugarcane, coconuts, bananas and other fruits, fresh turmeric and ginger plants, sweet potato, water chestnut, radish and large citrus fruits, along with rice, diyas and sindoor. Purity is essential: everything is cooked fresh, without onion, garlic or ordinary salt, and the kitchen and utensils are kept separate for the festival. See the full Chhath Puja samagri list for every item and its meaning.

Rules followed during the Chhath vrat

• The home, kitchen and utensils are cleaned thoroughly before Nahay Khay.
• Food is sattvik — no onion, garlic or non-vegetarian food in the household during the festival.
• The vrati usually sleeps on the floor and wears new or freshly washed, unstitched clothes.
• The 36-hour nirjala fast runs from after the Kharna prasad until after the morning arghya.
• Arghya is offered at sunset on the third day and at sunrise on the fourth — exact times depend on your city.

Anyone with a health condition should take medical advice before keeping a long fast without water; many families let elderly or unwell members take part in the rituals without fasting.

Chhath Puja in cities and abroad

Away from the great rivers of Bihar, communities have adapted the festival to where they live. In cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, samaj associations and housing societies organise ghats at lakes and build temporary water tanks, arrange lighting and security, and coordinate the timings of Saanjh and Pratha Arghya. Abroad, families gather at beaches, lakes and community halls, or offer arghya in a tub of water at home. What matters, devotees say, is the sincerity of the offering and facing the Sun at the right moment.

Because sunset and sunrise differ from city to city, so do the Arghya timings. Use MyPujaWorld's city-wise timings to check the exact moment for your city, and the events map to find a ghat near you.

Why is Chhath Puja special?

Chhath stands out among Hindu festivals for its simplicity and discipline. There is no idol worship and no priest is required — the devotee worships the Sun directly. Rich and poor stand side by side in the same water with the same soop of offerings. Its songs, passed down by generations of women, are an important part of Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi culture. For millions of families, Chhath is the festival that brings everyone home.