Karwa Chauth 2026

What is Karwa Chauth?

Karwa Chauth is a day-long fast kept by married women for the long life and well-being of their husbands. It falls on the fourth day (Chaturthi) of the dark half of Kartika in the North Indian purnimanta calendar — Ashwin in the amanta calendar — usually in October or November, about nine days before Diwali. It is especially popular in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and among North Indian families worldwide. "Karwa" is the earthen pot used in the ritual and "chauth" means the fourth day.

How is Karwa Chauth observed?

Sargi

Before sunrise, the woman eats sargi — a meal traditionally prepared by her mother-in-law, with fruit, dry fruit, sweets such as pheni and mathri — and then begins a fast without food or water until moonrise.

The evening puja

In the evening, women dressed in festive clothes, often red, with mehndi on their hands, gather in groups for the Karwa Chauth katha. They sit in a circle passing their decorated thalis — with a karwa of water, diya, sweets and sindoor — while the story is told and traditional songs are sung, and they pray to Goddess Parvati (Gauri), Lord Shiva and Ganesha.

Moonrise

When the moon rises, the woman looks at it through a sieve (chhalni), offers water (arghya) to the moon, and then looks at her husband through the same sieve. He offers her the first sip of water and bite of food to break the fast. Moonrise times vary by city, so families check the local moonrise time.

The story of Karwa Chauth

The most popular story is of Queen Veeravati, who fainted from hunger during her first fast; her brothers, unable to see her suffer, showed her a false moon with a lamp behind a tree. When she broke her fast, she received news that her husband had died. Through her devotion and by keeping the fast correctly the following year, she won back her husband's life. Other tellings involve Karwa, a devoted wife who saved her husband from a crocodile.

Karwa Chauth today

Many couples now fast together, and unmarried women sometimes keep the fast for a future partner. Women who are pregnant, unwell or on medication often keep a lighter fast with water or fruit — health comes first. Abroad, community groups organise evening kathas in temples and halls, and families compare moonrise times on video calls with relatives in India.