Before the sun has even thought of rising, the riverbank is already awake. Lamps float in the dark water. Women in bright saris wade in up to the waist, holding bamboo trays piled with fruit, and not one of them has had a sip of water since the evening before. The air smells of wet earth and ghee. Then a thin line of orange appears over the far bank, and the whole ghat goes silent.
This is Chhath, one of the few festivals that honours both the setting and the rising sun. It asks a great deal of the people who keep it: a bath in a cold river, a cleansed kitchen, and a fast of about 36 hours without water. Here is exactly when it falls this year and what happens on each of the four days.
Chhath Puja 2026 begins on Friday, 13 November with Nahay Khay and ends on Monday, 16 November with Usha Arghya. Kharna is on 14 November, and the main Sandhya Arghya (the evening offering to the setting sun) is on Sunday, 15 November 2026.
| Day 1: Nahay Khay | Friday, 13 November 2026 |
|---|---|
| Day 2: Kharna (Lohanda) | Saturday, 14 November 2026 |
| Day 3: Sandhya Arghya | Sunday, 15 November 2026 (Kartik Shukla Shashthi) |
| Day 4: Usha Arghya and parana | Monday, 16 November 2026 |
| Sunset and sunrise (New Delhi, per Drik Panchang) | Sunset about 5:28 PM on 15 November; sunrise about 6:44 AM on 16 November. Times differ by city, so check your local panchang. |
| Deity | Surya, the Sun god, and Chhathi Maiya |
| Celebrated mostly in | Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Nepal’s Terai, and Indian communities abroad |
Chhath Puja 2026 dates at a glance
People searching “chhath puja kab hai” usually want one date, and it is 15 November, the evening of the third day. Chhath peaks on Kartik Shukla Shashthi, the sixth day of the bright half of the month, which is where the name comes from (chhath means sixth). The four days run back to back, so devotees plan the whole week around them.
The fast is kept by the vrati (the devotee, often a woman, though many men keep it too). Everyone else at home keeps the rules of purity: no onion or garlic, and no tasting the prasad before it is offered. You can read how the festival connects to older stories in Chhath and Indian mythology.
Day 1, Nahay Khay (13 November): the river bath and a sacred meal
The name means “bathe, then eat”. The vrati wakes early, bathes in the Ganga or another river, and carries home a pot of its water. If there is no river nearby, a bath at home in fresh clothes is accepted. The house is scrubbed from corner to corner, because for the next four days even the kitchen must be pure.
The first meal is the only full meal of the festival. Families cook kaddu-bhat (bottle gourd curry, chana dal and rice) in plain rock salt, often on a clay stove fed with mango wood. The vrati eats first. Only then does the family eat the same food as prasad.
Day 2, Kharna (14 November): the fast that breaks only at dusk
On Kharna (also called Lohanda) the vrati eats nothing and drinks no water from sunrise. The house goes quiet. Children are told to keep their voices low, because the prasad is being prepared and nothing may spoil it.
After sunset the vrati worships the sun and the earth, then eats rasiyao-kheer (rice cooked in milk and jaggery), a flat roti and a banana. Neighbours often come to receive a little of this prasad, and the family eats after her. This is the last food and water she will have for about 36 hours, which is why the next two days are known as the 36-hour fast of Chhath.
Day 3, Sandhya Arghya (15 November): why people worship the setting sun
The third day is the heart of Chhath, and most of it is spent preparing. Families make thekua, a crisp sweet of wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, and pack bamboo soop and daura baskets with sugarcane, coconut, bananas, citrus fruits and lamps. Everything is fresh and seasonal, and whatever can be made at home is made at home.
In the afternoon, the family walks to the ghat, often carrying the baskets on their heads and singing Chhath songs along the way. As the sun nears the horizon, the vrati stands in the water and offers arghya (water or milk poured with folded hands) while others lift the baskets toward the sun. In New Delhi, Drik Panchang lists sunset at about 5:28 PM on 15 November. Offer the arghya at your own city’s sunset time, which changes from place to place.
It is a striking idea: a festival that honours the sun as it leaves. Many people say it teaches gratitude for what is ending, not only for what is arriving. After dark, many homes hold the kosi bharna ritual, with sugarcane stalks and lamps set under a canopy in the courtyard.
Day 4, Usha Arghya (16 November): the dawn offering and the end of the fast
Long before dawn, the families walk back to the same ghats, now lit with lamps. The vrati stands in the water once more, facing east, and waits. When the sun rises, she offers the second arghya. In New Delhi, sunrise on 16 November is about 6:44 AM, but check your own city’s time.
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Then comes the parana. The vrati breaks the fast with a little prasad and then shares the thekua and fruit with everyone around her. A fast of about 36 hours ends with a small mouthful of sweetness, and half the ghat seems to be smiling.
The stories behind the four days
Tradition links Chhath to several old figures. One telling says Sita fasted and worshipped the Sun after returning from Lanka. Another says Draupadi kept the vow to relieve the Pandavas in exile. A third says Karna, the son of Surya, stood in the river every morning to offer arghya. Families tell different versions, and the details are in the sources below.
Chhath is also the festival of Chhathi Maiya, the goddess invoked with the Sun, especially for children and the family’s welfare. More on the festival’s long history is in the festival of Chhath.
Who celebrates Chhath, and where in the world
Chhath is the biggest festival of Bihar, and it is kept with equal devotion in Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal. Migrant families carry it to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and the Gulf, where riverbanks, city ponds and artificial tanks fill up at sunset. Families abroad build their own ghats too, as you can read in Chhath Puja in the United States.
Chhath Puja 2026 FAQ
Which is the main day of Chhath Puja 2026?
The main day is Sunday, 15 November 2026, when Sandhya Arghya is offered at sunset. The festival ends the next morning with Usha Arghya on 16 November.
What is the difference between Nahay Khay and Kharna?
Nahay Khay (13 November) is the day of the river bath and the simple meal of gourd and rice. Kharna (14 November) is the day of a waterless fast broken after sunset with kheer and roti, after which the 36-hour fast begins.
Do men also keep the Chhath fast?
Yes. Women are the majority, but many men keep the vrat too, and the rules are the same for everyone.
What are the Chhath Puja 2026 arghya timings?
Arghya is offered at your city’s sunset on 15 November and sunrise on 16 November. For New Delhi, Drik Panchang lists about 5:28 PM and 6:44 AM. Check your local panchang for other cities.
छठ पूजा 2026 की कथा (संक्षेप में)
छठ पूजा 2026 चार दिन की है। नहाय-खाय 13 नवंबर (शुक्रवार), खरना 14 नवंबर (शनिवार), संध्या अर्घ्य 15 नवंबर (रविवार) और उषा अर्घ्य 16 नवंबर (सोमवार) को है। नहाय-खाय पर नदी में स्नान और कद्दू-भात का भोजन होता है। खरना पर दिन भर निर्जल उपवास के बाद शाम को गुड़ की खीर और रोटी का प्रसाद खाया जाता है। इसके बाद करीब 36 घंटे का निर्जला व्रत शुरू होता है। तीसरे दिन डूबते सूर्य को और चौथे दिन उगते सूर्य को अर्घ्य देकर व्रत पूरा होता है। नई दिल्ली में 15 नवंबर को सूर्यास्त लगभग शाम 5:28 बजे और 16 नवंबर को सूर्योदय लगभग सुबह 6:44 बजे है; अपने शहर का समय स्थानीय पंचांग में देखें।
Sources and versions
Dates and New Delhi sunrise and sunset times are from the Drik Panchang Chhath Puja calendar for 2026. The ritual details (kaddu-bhat, rasiyao-kheer, thekua, kosi) follow common practice in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, and individual families vary. The links to Sita, Draupadi and Karna are folk and Puranic traditions that differ by region; worship of the Sun itself is far older and goes back to the Vedic hymns to Surya.
For the myths behind the festival, continue with Chhath and Indian mythology, then read about the families who keep the vow far from home in Chhath in the United States.
Read the story of Chhathi Maiya.
Read the Chhath puja samagri list.
The legend behind the festival is told in Hindi in छठ पूजा की कथा.