Karwa Chauth 2026: Date, Moonrise Time in Your City and State-wise Customs

Karwa Chauth is one of the most loved fasts of North and West India. On this day many married women keep a fast from dawn until the moon rises, praying for the health and long life of their husbands. Over the years it has also become a day of togetherness: mothers-in-law preparing sargi before sunrise, women gathering in the evening with decorated thalis, and whole families stepping out onto rooftops to wait for the moon. This guide brings together the 2026 date, the tithi timings, moonrise for 32 cities, and the customs that make the day a little different in each state.

Karwa Chauth 2026 Date and Tithi

In 2026, Karwa Chauth falls on Thursday, 29 October 2026. It is observed on the Chaturthi (fourth day) of the waning half of the Moon. In the purnimanta calendar followed across most of North India, this is Kartika Krishna Chaturthi. In the amanta calendar used in Gujarat, Maharashtra and the South, the same day is called Ashwin Krishna Chaturthi. The name changes, but the day is the same. The festival is also known as Karak Chaturthi, from karak or karwa, the small earthen pot used in the puja.

The Chaturthi tithi runs through the whole day and is still in force when the Moon rises in every Indian city, which is why there is no confusion about the date this year.

What Karwa Chauth Means

The word karwa refers to the clay pot with a spout that holds water during the puja, and chauth means the fourth day. The fast is dedicated to Goddess Parvati (worshipped as Gauri or Chauth Mata), along with Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Kartikeya, and to the Moon, whose rising marks its end. Since the day is also a Krishna Chaturthi, many families remember Lord Ganesha first, as they would on any Sankashti Chaturthi.

At its heart, Karwa Chauth is about care and commitment within a marriage. Today many couples keep the fast together, and many families treat it as much as a social festival as a religious one, with new clothes, mehendi on the hands and an evening spent with friends and relatives.

Sargi: The Pre-dawn Meal

The day begins before sunrise with sargi, a meal traditionally prepared or sent by the mother-in-law. A typical sargi plate may include pheni or sevian cooked in milk, dry fruits, fresh fruit, mathri, parathas and a sweet, along with water or tea. In many homes the sargi basket also carries bangles, sindoor and other items of shringar as a blessing. The meal is eaten before dawn, and from sunrise the fast begins.

A practical tip: choose foods that release energy slowly and keep you hydrated, such as soaked almonds, coconut water, fruit and milk-based dishes, rather than very salty or fried items that increase thirst later in the day.

The Nirjala Fast and a Note on Health

Traditionally Karwa Chauth is a nirjala fast, kept without food or water from sunrise until moonrise. In New Delhi that is roughly fourteen hours, and in cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Kochi the moon rises even later.

A fast is meant to support devotion, not to harm the body. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, unwell, elderly, diabetic, or on regular medication, please speak to your doctor before deciding how to fast. Many women choose a phalahar fast with fruit, milk and water, or a fast with water only, and this is widely accepted in families and by priests. Feeling dizzy, faint or unusually weak is a sign to break the fast and rest.

The Evening Puja and the Katha

The evening puja is done after sunset and before moonrise. In New Delhi sunset on 29 October 2026 is at 5:39 pm and the moon rises at 8:17 pm, so most families gather in the early evening. The exact time varies by city, so check sunset where you live.

Preparing the puja

• A clean space is set up with an image or clay idol of Gauri or Chauth Mata, often with Shiva and Ganesha. In some homes a Karwa Chauth picture is pasted or drawn on the wall.
• The karwa is filled with water (some fill it with grain or sweets) and placed with a lamp, roli, rice, flowers and sweets.
• Each woman brings a decorated thali with a diya, sindoor, rice, sweets and the karwa.

The katha and the thali exchange

Women usually sit together in a circle while an elder woman or a priest tells the Karwa Chauth katha. The best known is the story of Veeravati, the only sister of seven brothers. Unable to see her suffer from hunger, her brothers created the illusion of a moonrise, and she broke her fast too early. Her devotion and a repeated fast are said to have restored her husband's life. Another story tells of a devoted wife named Karva, whose faith saved her husband from a crocodile.

In many parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, women pass their thalis around the circle during the katha, a custom called feri (or pheri), usually seven rounds, often with a traditional song. After the puja, a plate of food and gifts called baya or baayna is offered and then given to the mother-in-law or another elder woman of the family, and the woman touches her feet for blessings.

Seeing the Moon and Breaking the Fast

When the moon rises, women offer arghya, pouring water from the karwa towards the moon, and look at it through a chhalni (sieve), often with a lit diya placed on the sieve or in the thali. They then look at their husband's face through the same sieve. The husband offers the first sip of water and a bite of sweet, and the fast is broken. A light meal follows.

If the sky is cloudy and the moon is not visible, many families wait a little and then complete the ritual at the calculated moonrise time, facing the direction of the moon, or after a glimpse of it through the clouds. Follow the custom of your family or ask your family priest.

Moonrise Time on 29 October 2026: City-wise

Moonrise differs from city to city because of where each place sits on the globe. The times below are calculated in IST for the moment the centre of the Moon's disc touches a flat horizon. In practice you may see the moon a few minutes later because of buildings, trees, haze or clouds, so it helps to step out a little early and look towards the east.

The earliest moonrise in this list is in Guwahati at 7:23 pm, and the latest in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram at 9:08 pm. If your town is not listed, the nearest large city gives a rough idea, but the difference can still be several minutes.

How Karwa Chauth Is Observed State by State

Karwa Chauth is mainly a North and West Indian observance. The core of the fast is the same everywhere, but each region adds its own flavour.

Punjab

In Punjab the sargi from the mother-in-law is the centrepiece of the morning, and pheni in milk is almost always part of it. In the evening, women dressed in their finest, often in red or bridal colours, gather to pass their thalis in a circle as the katha and songs go on. The baya sent for the mother-in-law, and gifts exchanged between the families, keep the day closely tied to relationships between the two homes.

Haryana

Customs in Haryana are close to those of Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh: sargi before dawn, a group puja with the karwa and katha in the evening, and the baya offered to the mother-in-law. In many villages, women of the neighbourhood come together for the puja.

Delhi

Delhi brings together Punjabi, Haryanvi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthani families, so you will see every style here. Markets fill with mehendi artists the evening before, and in many housing societies women hold a shared evening puja and then go up to rooftops and terraces to watch for the moon.

Rajasthan

In Rajasthan the goddess is worshipped as Chauth Mata. Her best-known temple stands on a hill at Chauth ka Barwara in Sawai Madhopur district, and many devotees visit on Karwa Chauth and on the other Chauth days through the year. In homes, women worship an image of Gauri or Parvati, offer water to the moon several times, and older women tell the traditional stories.

Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh many women eat soot pheni with milk the evening before or at sargi. During the puja, women exchange their karwas or thalis seven times and listen to the story of Veeravati. Some families make small clay images of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha, or mark a little mound of earth with kumkum as Gaur Mata. The Karwa Chauth wall picture showing the moon, the karwa and the story scenes is common in UP homes.

Madhya Pradesh

Karwa Chauth is widely kept across Madhya Pradesh, from Gwalior and Bhopal to Indore and Ujjain. Customs follow the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan styles, with the karwa, the katha and moon worship through a sieve.

Uttarakhand

The fast is widely observed in Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh and the plains of the state, with customs close to those of western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. In Haridwar, some women take a dip in the Ganga or visit temples during the day.

Gujarat

Karwa Chauth is not a traditional Gujarati festival, but it is now widely kept in cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, especially by families with roots in North India and increasingly by others too. In Gujarat's amanta calendar the day falls in Aso (Ashwin) month.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Atla Taddi

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana a different moon-fast, Atla Taddi, is kept on the third day after the full moon of Ashwayuja, a day before Karwa Chauth. In 2026 it falls on Wednesday, 28 October. Women fast, worship Goddess Gauri, break the fast after seeing the moon and offer small dosas called atlu. The eve is marked by applying henna (gorintaku), and girls enjoy swings and songs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are moonrise times different in each city?

The Moon rises earlier in the east and later in the west, because the Earth turns from west to east. That is why Guwahati and Kolkata see the moon well before Mumbai and Ahmedabad, even though all of India uses the same IST clock. Latitude also plays a smaller part, which is why cities on similar longitudes in the north and south can still differ by a few minutes.

Can unmarried women keep the Karwa Chauth fast?

Yes, many do. Some unmarried women keep it for a future partner, and engaged women often keep it for their fiancé. Families differ: some ask unmarried girls to break the fast by seeing the stars instead of the moon. There is no single rule, so follow what feels right for you and your family.

Can husbands keep the fast too?

Yes. More and more husbands fast alongside their wives as a gesture of partnership. It is a personal choice and does not change the ritual.

What if I cannot keep a nirjala fast?

That is completely fine. A phalahar fast with fruit and milk, or a fast with water, is accepted in most families. Health comes first, and if you have a medical condition, please follow your doctor's advice.

Moonrise and sunset change with your exact location, and even a short distance can shift them by a few minutes. You can check the Karwa Chauth timings, sunset and moonrise for your own city in the Vedagya app or on our daily Panchang, and read more about the festival on our Karwa Chauth page.