Karwa Chauth 2026: Date, Moonrise Time and Puja Vidhi

Karwa Chauth 2026 falls on Thursday, 29 October 2026. The puja muhurat in Delhi is 5:38 PM to 6:56 PM IST, and the moon rises in Delhi at 8:17 PM IST. The fast is observed from sunrise, around 6:31 AM, until moonrise, when the moon is sighted through a chalni (sieve) and arghya (water offering) is given before the fast is broken.

Karwa Chauth is the beloved vrat (fast) in which married women fast from sunrise to moonrise, without food or water, for the long life and well-being of their husbands. It falls on the Chaturthi (fourth day) of the Krishna Paksha, the waning fortnight, of the Kartik month, a few days before Dhanteras and Diwali. The word Karwa refers to the small earthen pot with a spout used in the puja, and Chauth simply means the fourth lunar day.

Karwa Chauth 2026 Date and Puja Muhurat

Event	Date and Time (IST)
Karwa Chauth 2026	Thursday, 29 October 2026
Chaturthi tithi begins	29 October 2026, 1:06 AM
Chaturthi tithi ends	29 October 2026, 10:09 PM
Karwa Chauth puja muhurat (Delhi)	5:38 PM to 6:56 PM
Fasting window (Delhi)	6:31 AM to 8:17 PM
Moonrise in Delhi	8:17 PM

The puja muhurat is the evening window, just after sunset, when the main Karwa Chauth puja and the katha (story recitation) are traditionally done, before the moon rises. Since sunset and moonrise shift from city to city, the muhurat and moonrise for your location will differ by several minutes from Delhi. Check the exact timings for your city on our daily panchang.

You may notice that Karwa Chauth is later in the calendar this year than in 2025. That is because 2026 is an Adhik Maas year: an extra lunar month, Adhik Jyeshtha, was inserted from mid May to mid June 2026, pushing Kartik month festivals two to three weeks later than usual. The same shift applies to Diwali and Chhath Puja this year.

Karwa Chauth 2026 Moonrise Time, City by City

For this festival, the moonrise time is the single most important timing of the day, because the fast is broken only after sighting the moon. Here are the moonrise times on 29 October 2026 for major Indian cities:

City	Moonrise on 29 October 2026 (IST)
Kolkata	7:47 PM
Delhi	8:17 PM
Hyderabad	8:41 PM
Chennai	8:44 PM
Bengaluru	8:55 PM
Pune	8:58 PM
Mumbai	9:00 PM

The pattern is simple: the further east your city, the earlier the moon rises, and the further west, the later. Kolkata sees the moon a good 73 minutes before Mumbai. Remember also that the visible moonrise at your rooftop can be 10 to 20 minutes after the calculated time if buildings, trees or haze block the eastern horizon, so step out a little early and be patient. For any city not listed here, look up the moonrise on our panchang page for your location.

Significance of Karwa Chauth

Karwa Chauth is, at its heart, a prayer for the longevity of one's spouse, offered through tapasya, or voluntary austerity. The vrat is nirjala, meaning it is kept without even water, which makes it one of the most demanding fasts in the Hindu calendar. Tradition holds that the sincerity of the fast, combined with the blessings of Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya, protects the husband from harm and strengthens the bond of the marriage.

The best known katha associated with the vrat is the story of Queen Veeravati, whose seven loving brothers could not bear to see her suffer through the fast and tricked her with a false moon reflected through a tree. She broke her fast before the real moonrise, and her husband fell gravely ill. Only when she observed the vrat again with full devotion was he restored. The story is recited during the puja precisely to remind the fasting women that the vrat is completed only with the true moon.

Another tradition remembers Savitri, who followed Yama, the lord of death, and won back the life of her husband Satyavan through her unshakeable devotion. Draupadi too is said to have observed this fast for Arjuna on the advice of Shri Krishna. In every telling, the theme is the same: steadfast love, expressed through discipline, carries protective power.

Sargi and the Rules of the Fast

The day begins before dawn with sargi, a pre-sunrise meal traditionally prepared and gifted by the mother-in-law to the fasting daughter-in-law. A sargi thali usually includes fruits, dry fruits, a sweet such as pheni or seviyan (vermicelli cooked in milk), mathri and a little food that sustains through the day. Sargi is eaten before sunrise, ideally finishing around 40 minutes to an hour before, roughly between 4:00 AM and 5:30 AM depending on your city's sunrise.

• The fast begins at sunrise, which is around 6:31 AM in Delhi on 29 October 2026, and continues until the moon is sighted.
• It is traditionally nirjala, without food or water. Women who are pregnant, unwell or on medication should take a gentler form of the vrat, with fruits or water, without any hesitation. Shastra always places health and ahimsa above austerity.
• The mind matters as much as the body. The day is meant to be spent in a prayerful, cheerful spirit, not in irritation or exhaustion. Many women apply mehndi (henna), dress in bridal reds and pinks, and gather with other married women in the afternoon.

Karwa Chauth Puja Vidhi: Step by Step

1. Morning sankalpa: After bathing, take the sankalpa (solemn vow) to observe the vrat for the well-being and long life of your husband, remembering your family deity.
2. Prepare the puja space: In the evening, before the muhurat, set up a chowki (low wooden platform) with images or idols of Goddess Parvati (as Gaura Mata), Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya. Many families use a wall poster or a clay image of Chauth Mata.
3. Arrange the karwa: Fill the earthen karwa with water, place seven grains of wheat inside or beside it, and keep a diya, roli (vermilion), akshata (unbroken rice), flowers, fruits and sweets on the thali.
4. Perform the puja in the muhurat window: In Delhi this is 5:38 PM to 6:56 PM on 29 October. Light the diya, offer roli, akshata, flowers and naivedya (food offering) to the deities, and pray to Gaura Mata for saubhagya, the blessing of an unbroken married life.
5. Listen to the Karwa Chauth katha: The story of Veeravati, or the regional katha your family follows, is recited while the listeners hold akshata and flowers in their palms. In many homes an elder woman narrates it to the gathered group.
6. Exchange the karwas: Where women gather in groups, the karwas are passed around in a circle, often seven times, while singing the traditional songs.
7. Wait for the moonrise and complete the moon rituals described below.

Many families like to make the evening fuller by having a purohit conduct the puja and katha at home, especially when several women of the family are fasting together or when it is a bride's first Karwa Chauth. If you would like an experienced priest for the evening, you can request a verified purohit through Purohit and we will connect you with one in your city. Families in Delhi and around often pair it with a short festival puja at home.

The Moonrise Rituals: Chalni and Arghya

Once the moon is sighted, the closing rituals begin. They are brief but they are the emotional heart of the festival:

1. Sight the moon through a chalni: The fasting woman first views the moon through a chalni, a sieve, often with a lit diya placed behind or below it. The sieve is understood to filter the gaze, so that the moon, who once received a harsh word in legend, is viewed with softened, respectful eyes.
2. View the husband through the same chalni: Immediately after the moon, she turns and looks at her husband's face through the sieve. The symbolism is tender: after the moon, the first face she sees is his, framed in the same sacred gaze.
3. Offer arghya to the moon: Water from the karwa, sometimes with milk, akshata and flowers, is poured out towards the moon as arghya, a formal water offering, while praying to Chandra Dev for the husband's long life.
4. Break the fast: The husband then offers his wife the first sip of water and the first morsel of food, traditionally a sweet, with his own hands. She touches his feet or takes his blessing, and the elders of the house bless the couple.
5. Conclude with a family meal: The household then sits down to the festive dinner together.

Regional Variations

• Punjab: Karwa Chauth is at its most elaborate here. Sargi from the mother-in-law is central, the evening katha is a large community affair, and the songs sung while exchanging karwas, the wadhana songs, are a cherished tradition. Baya, a gift of dry fruits, sweets and clothes sent to the mother-in-law, completes the exchange.
• Uttar Pradesh: The vrat centres on Chauth Mata and Gaura Mata. Women often make images of Gaura from cow dung or clay, and the katha of Veeravati is recited. In many UP homes the arghya is offered with a karwa of both water and milk.
• Rajasthan: The festival blends with the strong local tradition of Chauth Mata worship, whose principal temple is at Chauth ka Barwara near Sawai Madhopur. The katha here often includes local tellings, and the fast is sometimes kept by unmarried girls praying for a good match.
• Madhya Pradesh, Himachal, Haryana and Delhi NCR: Customs follow the broad North Indian pattern, with family-specific details in the katha, the number of karwas and the items in the baya.

Modern Karwa Chauth: When Both Partners Fast

A quiet but widespread change over the last two decades is that many husbands now fast alongside their wives. There is no shastric prohibition on this; the vrat is an act of love and prayer, and a husband keeping it for his wife's long life is fully in the spirit of the festival. Couples who fast together typically both take sargi before sunrise, both remain nirjala or on water through the day, and break the fast together after the arghya, each offering the other the first sip and morsel. For couples separated by travel or living in different cities, a video call at moonrise, with each sighting the moon in their own city at its local moonrise time, has become a warm modern custom. The sankalpa, not the geography, is what counts.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Karwa Chauth in 2026?

Karwa Chauth 2026 is on Thursday, 29 October 2026, the Krishna Paksha Chaturthi of the Kartik month. The Chaturthi tithi runs from 1:06 AM to 10:09 PM IST on 29 October.

What time will the moon rise on Karwa Chauth 2026?

Moonrise on 29 October 2026 is at 8:17 PM IST in Delhi. It is earlier in eastern cities, 7:47 PM in Kolkata, and later towards the west, 8:55 PM in Bengaluru, 8:58 PM in Pune and 9:00 PM in Mumbai. Check your own city's moonrise on a local panchang before the evening.

What is the Karwa Chauth puja muhurat on 29 October 2026?

In Delhi the puja muhurat is 5:38 PM to 6:56 PM IST. The window shifts by a few minutes in other cities because it is tied to local sunset, so verify the timing for your location.

What is sargi and when should it be eaten?

Sargi is the pre-dawn meal, traditionally sent by the mother-in-law, that the fasting woman eats before sunrise on Karwa Chauth. It usually includes fruits, dry fruits, sweets like seviyan and light food, and should be finished before sunrise, which is around 6:31 AM in Delhi on 29 October 2026.

Can the fast be broken if the moon is not visible due to clouds?

If clouds or haze hide the moon, tradition permits breaking the fast once the calculated moonrise time for your city has passed, after offering arghya in the moon's direction. Some families instead view a reflection, or wait a reasonable while and then proceed with the arghya on the strength of the panchang timing.

Why is the moon viewed through a chalni (sieve)?

The sieve softens and sanctifies the gaze. Folk tradition holds that looking at the Karwa Chauth moon directly invites the blemish of an old curse, so the moon is viewed through the chalni with a diya, and immediately afterwards the husband's face is seen through the same sieve, making his the first face seen after the moon.

Can pregnant women or those on medication keep the fast?

Yes, in a gentler form. Shastra never demands austerity at the cost of health. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and anyone on medication should keep a phalahar (fruit and milk) or jal (water permitted) version of the vrat, with the same sankalpa and puja. The devotion, not the severity, carries the merit.

Can husbands also fast on Karwa Chauth?

Yes. There is no prohibition, and many modern couples fast together, both taking sargi before sunrise and breaking the fast together after moonrise and arghya. It is fully in keeping with the spirit of the vrat, which is a prayer for the partner's long life.

Is Karwa Chauth observed before or after Diwali in 2026?

Before. Karwa Chauth on 29 October 2026 falls in the Krishna Paksha of Kartik, about ten days before Dhanteras and Diwali, which follow in the first half of November 2026.