Karva Chauth 2026: Date, Puja Muhurat, Moonrise Time, Vrat Katha and Puja Vidhi
Karva Chauth 2026 falls on Thursday, October 29, 2026, observed on Chaturthi Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the Kartik month. This is one of the most significant one-day fasts observed by married Hindu women, kept for the long life and wellbeing of their husbands. The fast runs from sunrise to moonrise, and women neither eat nor drink water through the entire day until they sight the moon, complete the puja, and receive blessings from their husband. Below you will find the exact date, Tithi timing, Karva Chauth Puja Muhurat, fasting duration, Sargi details, puja vidhi, vrat katha, and everything you need to observe Karva Chauth this year.
Karva Chauth 2026 At a Glance
| Detail | Timing / Info |
|---|---|
| Festival | Karva Chauth |
| Date 2026 | Thursday, October 29, 2026 |
| Hindu Month | Kartik |
| Tithi | Krishna Paksha Chaturthi |
| Chaturthi Tithi Begins | Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 1:06 AM |
| Chaturthi Tithi Ends | Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 11:59 PM |
| Karva Chauth Puja Muhurat | 06:06 PM to 07:21 PM |
| Karva Chauth Vrat Time | 06:40 AM to 08:39 PM (Sunrise to Moonrise) |
Karva Chauth Date, Tithi and Moonrise Time 2026
Karva Chauth is observed on Chaturthi Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the Kartik month each year. Since the date follows the Hindu lunar calendar it changes annually. This year, the Chaturthi Tithi begins at Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 1:06 AM and ends at Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 11:59 PM, with the festival falling on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
The Karva Chauth fast this year runs from 06:40 AM to 08:39 PM. Women begin the fast at sunrise and break it only after sighting the moon, performing the evening puja, and receiving water or food from their husband. The Karva Chauth Puja Muhurat this year is 06:06 PM to 07:21 PM, which is the recommended window to perform the evening rituals before moonrise.
What Is Karva Chauth
Karva Chauth is a one-day nirjala fast observed by married women in North India, particularly in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh. The word Karva refers to a small earthen pot used in the puja rituals, and Chauth means the fourth day; together they describe the festival observed on the fourth day of the dark fortnight in Kartik.
Women observe this fast from sunrise to moonrise without food or water, praying for their husband's long life, health, and prosperity. In recent decades, the tradition has spread beyond its original geography and is now observed by married women across India and abroad. Some unmarried women also observe the fast, praying for a good husband.
The Story Behind Karva Chauth
The Karva Chauth Vrat Katha is central to the day's puja, and different regions tell slightly different versions of the story. The most widely known version tells of a devoted wife named Veeravati, the only sister of seven brothers. On her first Karva Chauth after marriage, she was fasting at her parents' home. As evening approached, she grew very weak from hunger and thirst, and her seven brothers could not bear to see her suffer.
Unable to wait for the actual moonrise, the brothers climbed a nearby hill with a mirror and held a lamp behind it, creating a reflection that looked like the moon. Veeravati, believing it was the real moon, broke her fast. The moment she did, she received news that her husband had died. Stricken with grief, she prayed to Goddess Parvati and kept the fast sincerely the following year without breaking it prematurely. Her husband was restored to life.
The story emphasises that Karva Chauth must be observed strictly the fast cannot be broken until the actual moon has been sighted and the puja completed. Breaking it early, even unknowingly, is considered inauspicious.
A second story tied to Karva Chauth involves a woman named Karva, after whom the festival is named. Her husband was caught by a crocodile in a river. Karva tied the crocodile with a cotton thread and approached Yama, the god of death, demanding her husband be freed. Her devotion and the power of her vrat was so strong that Yama had no choice but to release her husband. This story is about the strength of a wife's sincere prayer and fasting.
A third well-known story connects Karva Chauth to Draupadi from the Mahabharata. When Arjuna went to the Nilgiris for penance, the other Pandavas faced many difficulties. Draupadi, on Krishna's advice, observed the Karva Chauth fast sincerely, and the Pandavas were relieved of their troubles. This version is why some communities connect the fast to goddess worship rather than just the husband's long life.
Sargi — The Pre-Dawn Meal on Karva Chauth
Sargi is the pre-dawn meal eaten before sunrise on Karva Chauth. It is prepared and given by the mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law as a mark of love and blessings before the fast begins. The Sargi thali typically includes fruits, sweets, mathri, fenia (a kind of sweet vermicelli), dry fruits, coconut, and sindoor. In many families, it also includes a glass of milk or a light cooked meal.
Women wake up before sunrise, bathe, get dressed, and eat the Sargi before the sun rises. Once the sun is up, the fast officially begins and no food or water is consumed until the moon is sighted. In families where the mother-in-law is not nearby, Sargi is sometimes sent by courier or the women prepare their own pre-fast meal.
The Sargi tradition is more than a practical meal. It is a gesture of the mother-in-law passing on her blessings and the responsibility of the household to the daughter-in-law, and wishing her a long and happy married life.
Karva Chauth Fasting Rules
Karva Chauth is a nirjala fast, meaning no food and no water are consumed from sunrise to moonrise. This year, the fasting period runs from 06:40 AM to 08:39 PM. Women who observe the fast strictly follow the nirjala tradition, though some women observe a partial fast that allows water or fruit for health reasons.
During the fast day, women typically spend time applying mehendi, getting dressed in traditional red or bridal attire, wearing their bridal jewellery, and applying sindoor. Red is the traditional colour associated with Karva Chauth because it is the colour of marriage and auspiciousness in North Indian tradition. In recent years, other bright colours have also become acceptable.
Women generally avoid sleeping during the fast day and keep themselves engaged through mehendi, preparation, and gathering with other married women in the neighbourhood. In many communities, groups of women sit together in the evening to listen to the Karva Chauth Vrat Katha before beginning the moonrise puja.
Karva Chauth Puja Muhurat 2026
The Karva Chauth Puja Muhurat this year falls at 06:06 PM to 07:21 PM. This is the recommended time to begin the evening puja before moonrise. The puja is performed in the evening after sunset but before the moon is visible. Once the moon rises, women first sieve it through the Karva or a sieve, then look at their husband through the same sieve, and finally drink water from his hands to break the fast.
The timing of the puja is important because it needs to be completed before the moon rises. Women who delay the puja risk having to rush through it after the moon is already visible, which is considered less auspicious. Starting the puja within the recommended Muhurat ensures the rituals are completed properly before the moon appears.
Karva Chauth Puja Vidhi
Prepare the puja thali in advance with the following items: a Karva (small earthen pot filled with water), a diya, incense, a sieve or chalni, sindoor, kumkum, flowers, sweets particularly mathri, besan ladoo or other traditional sweets, fruits, and the photo or idol of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva or Ganesha if available. Many women also include a photo of their husband near the puja area.
As the evening approaches during the Puja Muhurat, the puja is performed in the following sequence:
Gather with other women, if possible in a group, facing east or in the direction of the moon. Light the diya in the Karva and incense in the puja thali. Offer flowers, sindoor, and sweets to Goddess Parvati. Chant Om Namah Shivaya or the Karva Chauth prayer. Listen to or recite the Karva Chauth Vrat Katha. Pass the puja thali around in a circle if in a group, each woman taking her turn to hold it. Once the moon rises, look at the moon through the sieve or chalni, then look at your husband through the same sieve. Take water from your husband's hands to break the fast. Exchange blessings and eat the puja prasad together.
In many families, the husband also participates by holding water or a glass of juice for his wife to drink when she breaks the fast. Some families perform a small aarti together before the fast is broken.
Karva Chauth Vrat Katha
The Karva Chauth Vrat Katha is an essential part of the puja and must be heard or recited before the moonrise ceremony. The katha is typically read aloud by an elder woman in the group, while the others listen with their puja thali in hand.
Most versions of the katha tell the story of Veeravati and her brothers, described earlier, as well as a second story about a devoted wife whose sincerity in keeping the fast ultimately saved her husband from death. The katha ends with a reminder that the fast must never be broken prematurely, and that a wife who keeps it faithfully every year will always see her husband protected and in good health.
In some communities, the katha is not read from a book but told by the eldest woman in the gathering from memory, passing it down as an oral tradition. In urban households, it is read from printed katha books or listened to via audio recordings.
Moonrise and Breaking the Fast
The most anticipated moment of Karva Chauth is moonrise. Women watch the sky anxiously as the time approaches, and there is a palpable sense of relief and celebration when the moon finally appears. The ritual of sighting the moon through the sieve, then viewing the husband's face through the same sieve, is the defining image of the festival.
The symbolism behind this ritual is layered. The sieve filters it is used to separate what is desired from what is not. Looking at the moon and the husband through the same sieve is a way of placing both in the same sacred frame, seeking the moon's blessings for the husband's life and welcoming him into that prayer.
After the moon sighting, the husband offers water or a drink to his wife, who takes the first sip to formally break the fast. In many families, the husband also feeds his wife the first bite of food. This exchange between husband and wife at the end of a day of fasting is the emotional heart of Karva Chauth, and the reason the festival holds such deep significance in the households that observe it.
Karva Chauth Across India
Karva Chauth is most deeply rooted in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Western Uttar Pradesh, where it has been observed for generations. In these states, it is one of the most important married women's festivals of the year, with preparations beginning several days in advance; mehendi appointments are booked weeks ahead, and markets are full of karwas, sindoor, and traditional sweets in the days leading up to the festival.
In Delhi and its surrounding areas, large markets specifically for Karva Chauth items set up in the days before the festival. Women shop for new clothes, mehendi designs, and puja materials. The mehendi tradition has grown into a major commercial activity in North India around Karva Chauth.
In states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, Karva Chauth is not a traditional local festival, but it has spread considerably among North Indian communities living in these states and among women who have moved to these cities after marriage. The festival has also been popularised through Bollywood films and television serials, which has made it recognisable across India even among communities that do not traditionally observe it.
Karva Chauth and Married Life
The practice of going without food and water for an entire day, from sunrise to moonrise, is physically demanding. The fact that millions of women across India choose to do this every year for their husband's wellbeing is a testament to the emotional weight the festival carries in the communities that observe it.
For many women, Karva Chauth is also a day for themselves a day to dress up in bridal attire, wear mehendi, gather with other women, and observe a tradition that connects them to the women of previous generations in their family who observed the same fast in the same way. The day is as much about community and continuity as it is about the individual prayer for a husband's life.
Karva Chauth Today
The way Karva Chauth is observed has shifted considerably over the past two decades. In many urban households, the nirjala fast is observed strictly as before, but the social setting has changed women now gather in apartment common areas or community halls rather than courtyards, and the katha is sometimes played from a mobile phone rather than recited by an elder. Husbands in many families now actively participate, taking the day off work to be present for the moonrise puja and the fast-breaking. Some couples observe the fast together, with the husband also fasting for the day alongside his wife. The moonrise search has also gone digital, with dedicated apps and websites showing real-time moonrise timings for specific cities, which has made it easier for women to plan the puja timing precisely regardless of where they live.
