Chhath is among the most disciplined festivals in the Hindu calendar. It is dedicated to Surya, the Sun, and to Chhathi Maiya, a goddess associated with the sixth day (shashthi) and with children. It is kept six days after Diwali, in the bright half of Kartika. There are no idols and no priests are required: the worshipper stands in water at sunset and at sunrise and offers arghya to the Sun.
Timing
The two arghyas are tied to sunset and sunrise at your place, so the times differ for each city. The Chhath Puja page lists the dates with sunset and sunrise times for 49 cities, and the city pages such as New Delhi, London and Sydney show them. For another place, use the any-city tool. The dates are not repeated here.
Samagri: what to gather
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| Bamboo soop (winnowing tray) and daura (basket) | Hold the offerings for the arghya |
| Thekua, a sweet of wheat flour, jaggery and ghee | The main prasad |
| Fruits, such as bananas, apples, oranges, pomelo, coconut | Offered in the tray |
| Whole sugarcane stalks | Tied together as a canopy at the ghat |
| Rice laddu (kasar) | Prasad |
| Clay lamps, incense, turmeric, rice, kumkum | Worship |
| Brass or copper vessel with water, or milk | For the arghya |
| Fresh, clean clothes, unstitched in some families | Worn by the vrati |
The four days
- Day one, nahay khay. The vrati bathes in a river or clean water, cleans the house, and eats one meal of rice, bottle gourd (lauki) and chana dal cooked in ghee without onion or garlic.
- Day two, kharna. A fast without water the whole day. After sunset, the vrati prays and eats kheer made from rice and jaggery with roti, and the family shares the prasad. The 36-hour fast begins from this point.
- Day three, sandhya arghya. The family prepares thekua and fruit, packs the soop, and goes to the river, pond or tank at the end of the day. The vrati stands in the water and, as the Sun sets, offers arghya with milk or water, while others sing the traditional songs.
- Day four, usha arghya. Before dawn, the family returns to the water. The vrati stands facing east and offers arghya as the Sun rises. After a prayer, she breaks the fast with water, ginger and the prasad.
The katha
A widely told story concerns King Priyavrata and Queen Malini (Priyamvada in some versions), who had no children. The sage Kashyapa performed a sacrifice for them and gave the queen a kheer to eat. She bore a son, but the child was stillborn. The king took the body to the cremation ground in sorrow, and there a radiant goddess appeared. She said she was Shashthi, born of the sixth part of the primal nature, and that she protects children. She touched the child, and he revived. The king began her worship.
Other traditions connect the vrat with Draupadi and the Pandavas, who are said to have kept it to regain their kingdom, and with Sita, who is said to have worshipped the Sun after returning to Ayodhya. They are told as sacred stories; they are not offered as evidence of any one origin.
Regional variations
Customs differ by region and family; follow your family’s custom. The vrat is strongest in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai of Nepal, and it is kept by migrant communities abroad at rivers, lakes, ponds and temple tanks. When no river is available, many families use a clean tub or pool at home. Some families keep a pot lamp at the ghat all night.
Fasting and health
The 36-hour fast without water is among the strictest in the tradition, and it is a serious physical effort. If you are pregnant, nursing, diabetic, elderly, unwell, or on regular medication, please consult a doctor before taking it on. Many families adapt the fast, and standing in cold water at dawn also carries risks, so take care. Elders in the family often decide what is safe.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Who can keep Chhath?
Anyone can. In many families women keep it, but men also do. Once taken up, many families continue it every year.
↳ Why is there no idol?
The Sun is worshipped directly, as the visible deity. The offerings are made to the setting and the rising Sun, standing in water.
↳ What if I live far from a river?
Communities use ponds, lakes and temple tanks, and many use a clean tub or pool at home. The tradition values the offering and the purity of the preparation.
↳ Why is the food cooked without onion and garlic?
In the tradition the days are kept in a strict state of purity, so the food is simple, cooked fresh with rock salt or none, in a clean kitchen, often over a clay stove.