Chhath Puja 2026: Dates, Arghya Times and Vidhi for All Four Days

Key points at a glance

• Chhath Puja 2026 runs from Friday 13 November (Nahay Khay) to Monday 16 November (Usha Arghya), with the main Sandhya Arghya on Sunday 15 November.
• Sandhya Arghya is offered at sunset, so the time depends on your city: about 5:01 PM in Patna, 5:28 PM in Delhi and 6:00 PM in Mumbai.
• Usha Arghya on Monday 16 November is offered at sunrise and ends the fast, which lasts roughly 36 hours without water for most vratis.
• The festival honours Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi), which is why it falls on the sixth tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha.
• Plan Chhath Puja 2026 early: the festival calendar and panchang help you fix the ghat, the soop and the prasad.
• Remedies linked to Surya are traditional acts of faith. They cannot promise an outcome, and a chart check tells you which ones suit you.

"Which day do we actually fast?" Every year, around the week after Diwali, this is the first question that reaches our astrologers from families in Patna, Varanasi and Delhi NCR. The answer for Chhath Puja 2026 is simple once you split it into four days, and we have laid each one out below. If you want to plan around the wider calendar first, our festival calendar lists the dates that come before and after it.

Book a one-to-one family puja for your household

What is Chhath Puja 2026?

Chhath Puja 2026 is the four-day festival, starting 13 November 2026, in which devotees thank Surya Dev (the Sun) and pray to Chhathi Maiya for the health and long life of their children and family. It is kept mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, and by families who have moved to Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Chhath Puja 2026 dates and arghya times

The main rule is that arghya is offered at sunset on the evening of Shashthi and at sunrise the next morning, so the timings follow your local sun, not a single national clock.

These dates match the Drik Panchang calendar as reproduced by Hindutone, and DekhoPanchang also gives 15 November as the festival day. Shashthi tithi runs from late on Saturday 14 November until 2:00 AM on Monday 16 November, according to the same Drik data. That overlap is why some families ask whether the main day is Saturday or Sunday. We follow the sunset rule: Sunday evening is Sandhya Arghya.

Arghya times for 2026, from the Drik Panchang calendar for each city:

Times on a riverbank can differ by a minute or two from these figures. Reach the ghat 30 to 40 minutes early, and check the day's panchang for your exact location before you leave.

How to observe Chhath Puja: the four-day vidhi

The vidhi (ritual method) follows the same four steps every year, and families add their own local customs on top.

1. Nahay Khay (13 November). Bathe in a river or at home with Ganga jal. Clean the kitchen thoroughly. Cook one meal of rice, chana dal and lauki (bottle gourd) in pure ghee or mustard oil, without onion or garlic. The vratis eat first; the family eats afterwards.
2. Kharna (14 November). Fast through the day without food or water. After sunset, offer kheer made with jaggery, plus roti, to Surya and Chhathi Maiya, then eat it as prasad. The nirjala (waterless) fast starts here and runs until Monday morning.
3. Sandhya Arghya (15 November). Fill the bamboo soop (winnowing tray) with thekua, seasonal fruit, sugarcane, coconut and a lit diya. Go to the ghat before sunset, stand in knee-deep water and offer arghya to the setting sun. Many families return for a night of Chhath songs.
4. Usha Arghya (16 November). Reach the ghat before sunrise. Offer arghya to the rising sun, pray for the family, and break the fast with prasad and water.

A short word on purity: strictness here is about intention, not showing off. A vratis who is unwell, pregnant or elderly should speak to a doctor and to the family elders about how much of the fast is wise. We say this plainly because we have seen families push too hard.

What Chhath Puja means in Vedic astrology

In Jyotish, Surya is the natural significator (karaka) of the soul, father, authority and vitality, a point stated in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Chhath is the one major festival where Surya is worshipped directly, with no idol in between.

Here is where we disagree with a common claim. Many sites say that Chhath Puja 2026, or any year's Chhath, "fixes" a weak Sun. It does not. A fast and an arghya are acts of devotion, and they support discipline and gratitude. They do not rewrite a chart. What the festival can do is make you look at your Sun properly.

Three things our astrologers check when a family asks about Surya in a kundli:

• Sun's sign. The Sun is in Libra (Tula), its sign of debilitation, through Kartik until Vrishchika Sankranti on 16 November 2026 (Haindavam). A person born in this stretch has the Sun in Libra by birth, and the question is the strength of the rest of the chart, not doom.
• House position. The Sun in the 1st, 5th or 9th house behaves differently from the Sun in the 6th, 8th or 12th. Our guide to the 12 houses explains why. The 5th house is the house of children, which is why Chhathi Maiya's blessing for santaan (children) is so often asked.
• Dasha running. Sun Mahadasha or Sun Antardasha periods change how this fast feels in a family. This is the part a general article cannot answer for you.

If you want to see where Surya sits in your own chart, open our free kundli tool with your date, time and place of birth. Birth-time accuracy matters here: a difference of a few minutes can shift the Lagna, and with it the house the Sun occupies.

Chhath Puja myths vs facts

Safe practices and traditional remedies during Chhath

These are traditional practices, not treatments. They carry no guarantee, and none replaces medical advice.

• Offer arghya with a calm mind. Use clean water, a copper vessel if your family tradition has one, and face the sun without staring at it.
• Keep the home satvik. No onion, garlic, meat or alcohol for the four days. Use fresh utensils for prasad.
• Recite a Surya mantra. Many families chant the Surya Gayatri or simple Surya mantras. Our mantra section has pronunciations.
• Donate with sense. Wheat, jaggery or red cloth are traditionally given on Sundays. Give what you can afford, quietly.
• Gemstones only after a chart check. Ruby is the stone linked to Surya, but it does not suit every chart. Never wear one because a festival article suggested it.
• If you cannot travel, a one-to-one family puja can be arranged on your behalf with your sankalp, so the intention reaches the ritual even when you cannot reach the ghat.

An illustrative example: the Sharma family in Delhi

This is an illustrative example, not a real client.

Neha Sharma, 31, lives in Dwarka, Delhi. Her mother-in-law has kept Chhath for 25 years in Samastipur. This year the family cannot travel, and Neha is worried about doing Kharna correctly in a rented flat with no ghat nearby.

Our astrologers would first confirm Delhi's sunset on Sunday 15 November, 5:28 PM, and suggest reaching a nearby community ghat or a tub-based arrangement on the terrace by 4:50 PM. Then they would look at her chart. Suppose her Sun sits in the 5th house in Aquarius. We would explain that this speaks of a strong link with children and discipline, but also of pressure to prove herself to elders. We would tell her the fast is a devotion, not an exam.

The family gets a clear plan, a calm Kharna and a conversation they were avoiding. No result is promised.

Chhath Puja 2026 for readers across India

Online consultation works as well as an in-person visit, because an astrologer reads a chart, not a face. We hear from readers in Delhi NCR, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kolkata and Mumbai every year, and the questions are nearly identical: which time, which ghat, what if the vratis is unwell.

Delhi NCR families often ask how to arrange arghya in a gated society. Mumbai readers ask about Juhu and Powai arrangements. Kolkata readers want to know why sunset is so early there. Our answer is the same: use the local figure from the table above, double-check it against the panchang on the day, and keep a family elder in the loop.

If you would rather talk through your concern than read about it, you can speak to an astrologer from home, and send your kundli beforehand so we can use the time well.

Get a Complete Kundli Report to see where your Sun stands

Frequently asked questions

When is Chhath Puja 2026?

Chhath Puja 2026 begins on Friday 13 November and ends on Monday 16 November. Nahay Khay is 13 November, Kharna 14 November, Sandhya Arghya 15 November and Usha Arghya 16 November. The main day is Sunday 15 November, when evening arghya is offered at sunset.

What is the Sandhya Arghya time in Delhi?

Sandhya Arghya in Delhi on 15 November 2026 is at sunset, about 5:28 PM. Usha Arghya on 16 November is at sunrise, about 6:44 AM. DekhoPanchang shows 5:27 PM and 6:43 AM, so allow one minute either side and arrive at the ghat early.

Is Chhath Puja a fast without water?

Yes, the main vratis keep a nirjala fast of roughly 36 hours. It starts after the Kharna prasad on 14 November and ends with Usha Arghya on 16 November. Anyone with a medical condition should ask a doctor first. Faith does not ask you to risk your health.

Which gods are worshipped in Chhath Puja?

Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi) are worshipped. Surya is thanked for energy and life, and Chhathi Maiya is prayed to for the protection and well-being of children. The sixth tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha is why the festival is called Chhath.

Can men observe Chhath Puja?

Yes, men can observe Chhath Puja. The fast is open to any family member, and a person who takes the vrat is called a parvaiti. Many families see women lead it, but the tradition does not forbid men.

Does Chhath Puja help a weak Sun in my kundli?

It may support discipline and gratitude, but it does not change your chart. Surya's strength depends on sign, house, dasha and aspects. A fast is an act of faith, so book a chart reading before you rely on any remedy.

What do I put in the Chhath soop?

A traditional soop holds thekua, seasonal fruit, sugarcane, coconut and a lit diya. Families add rice laddu, banana, a lemon and a new cloth based on local custom. Keep every item fresh and wash it before use.

Can I do Chhath at home if I cannot reach a river?

Yes, many families use a clean tub, a society pond or a temporary pool. The offering faces the sun at the right time, which matters more than the water body. Check local rules and keep children supervised.

Make this Chhath Puja 2026 count

Chhath Puja 2026 is four days, one fast, and two arghyas at the right time for your city. Plan the dates first, then the kitchen, then the ghat. Our astrologers suggest writing Chhath Puja 2026 timings for your city on the fridge. If you want your kundli read before 13 November, chat with our astrologers and keep your birth details ready.

You can also keep daily timings on your phone with the HealAstro Android app.

Disclaimer: Astrology offers guidance based on traditional Vedic principles. It is not a substitute for medical, legal, financial or psychological advice, and no astrologer can guarantee an outcome.