Chhath Puja 2026
छठ पूजा
Chhath Puja falls on Sunday, 15 November 2026 in New Delhi, on Shukla Shashthi.
Chhath Puja is a four-day vow to the Sun and Chhathi Maiya, kept especially in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, and now wherever people from those regions have moved. Those who keep it fast without water and stand in a river or pond to make offerings to the setting and then the rising Sun.
Why this date
CalculatedThe main day is Kartika Shukla Shashthi, the sixth lunar day of the bright fortnight, on whose evening the first offering is made to the setting Sun. The fast ends after the offering to the rising Sun the next morning, on Saptami. The festival begins two days before, so it comes about six days after Diwali. A smaller Chhath is also kept in Chaitra.
That’s 19 days later than 27 October 2025 last year. Why it jumped
- Shashthi begins
- 14 Nov, 11:25 PM
- It ends
- 16 Nov, 2:02 AM
2026 date by city
| New Delhi | Sun, 15 Nov |
|---|---|
| Mumbai | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Kolkata | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Chennai | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Bengaluru | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Hyderabad | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Ahmedabad | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Pune | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Jaipur | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Lucknow | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Patna | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Varanasi | Sun, 15 Nov |
| London | Sun, 15 Nov |
| New York | Sun, 15 Nov |
| San Francisco | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Toronto | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Sydney | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Singapore | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Dubai | Sun, 15 Nov |
| Port Louis | Sun, 15 Nov |
Dates in bold differ from New Delhi’s. Calculated by rule; local practice can differ.
One festival, many stories
Bihar and eastern IndiaA festival of the Sun
Chhath is one of the few major festivals addressed to the Sun, and it has a farming feel, with new crops, sugarcane and fruit in the baskets. Sahapedia describes it as a post-harvest thanksgiving and quotes K. S. Singh's view that sun worship remains its core, despite the influence of a mother-goddess cult.
Bihar and eastern IndiaWho is Chhathi Maiya?
Chhathi Maiya is the goddess of the vow, and she's usually identified with Shashthi Devi, a protector of children who's described in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana. Sahapedia also connects her with Devasena. A popular story tells of a queen whose stillborn child prompted the goddess to teach the rite. Chhath songs regularly ask her for children and their safety.
BiharSita, Draupadi and Karna
You'll hear that Sita kept this fast with Rama after coming back to Ayodhya, that Draupadi kept it, and that Karna began it in Anga, in present-day Bihar. The Mahabharata does show Karna worshipping the Sun, but we haven't found the epics naming Chhath. These connections are best taken as oral tradition, and they're strongly felt.
Common questions
What people do
- Nahay Khay on the first day: a bath and a simple meal
- Kharna on the second evening: rice-and-jaggery kheer, then a fast without water
- Sandhya Arghya on the third evening: an offering to the setting Sun, standing in water
- Usha Arghya on the fourth morning: an offering to the rising Sun, after which the fast ends
- Baskets of thekua, fruit and sugarcane, and old songs sung by women all the way to the ghat
Why is the setting Sun worshipped first in Chhath?
Because the vow's main day is Shashthi, and its evening comes before the following dawn, though no named text we could confirm explains why it was set up this way. People add meanings of their own, the most loved being that here you honour the setting Sun too, not just the rising one.
How long is the Chhath fast?
After the Kharna meal on the second evening, many keep a fast without food or water until the third day's offering and the following morning's, often said to be about 36 hours. Exact practice varies by family.
Who can keep the Chhath vow?
Both women and men do, though it's most often kept by women, and people of many castes keep it. Those who can't fast may help with the preparations, which are seen as worship too.
Is Chhath mentioned in the Vedas?
Not by name, as far as we could confirm. The Vedas do praise the Sun and Usha, the dawn, and popular articles often stretch this into a claim about Chhath's Vedic origin, but we found no citation that shows it.
Ask your elders
“Ask your family who first took on the vow, and who they passed it to. Ask them to sing you one Chhath song, and to tell you where they stood the year they couldn't make it home.”
Sources
- Shruti Chakraborty, “Chhath Puja: Origin of the Festival, and the Story of Devasena”, Sahapedia
- K. S. Singh, “Solar Traditions in Tribal and Folk Cultures of India”, as cited by Sahapedia
- Brahma Vaivarta Purana (Shashthi Devi, work-level)
- Spasht calendar engine (festival rule)