Karva Chauth
When it falls
The date shifts because it tracks the moon, not the Gregorian calendar.
Calculated for India (IST) using precise Panchang astronomy. Dates can shift by a day at locations far to the east or west.
Why Karva Chauth is kept
Karva Chauth falls on the fourth day (chaturthi) of the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) in the month of Kartik, usually in October or November. The name joins karva — an earthen pot with a spout, used to offer water to the moon — with chauth, the fourth lunar day. It is observed mainly across North and West India, especially Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
At its heart the festival is a vow: married women fast from before sunrise until moonrise, taking neither food nor water, for the long life and health of their husbands. In many families unmarried women keep it too, with a betrothed or hoped-for partner in mind. The most retold story is that of Savitri, who followed Yama to win back her husband Satyavan, alongside the tale of Queen Veervati, tricked into breaking her fast early — a reminder that the fast is meant to be held until the moon is actually seen.
Goddess Parvati is honoured as the model of devotion, and Karva Mata is invoked through the day's stories. The fast is demanding — a full day without water is not symbolic — and over time it has also become an occasion of shared company, where women of a household and neighbourhood gather, dress up, and keep the vigil together.
Rituals & observance
The day runs from a pre-dawn meal to a moonrise ceremony. Customs vary by region and family, but the core sequence is consistent.
- Sargi before dawn: the fast begins after eating sargi, a pre-sunrise meal traditionally sent by the mother-in-law — usually fruit, sweets, and foods that help sustain a long day without water.
- Nirjala vrat through the day: women keep a strict waterless fast (nirjala vrat) from sunrise until the moon is sighted, setting aside food and drink entirely.
- Afternoon katha and puja: women gather, often in red or festive dress with henna (mehndi) and bangles, to hear the Karva Chauth story (katha) and worship Parvati and Karva Mata, passing decorated karvas in a circle.
- Moonrise sighting: the fast is broken only after the moon rises. Many use the evening puja muhurat as a guide, but the actual moment depends on local moonrise.
- Offering and breaking the fast: the woman views the moon through a sieve, offers water (arghya) from the karva, then looks at her husband through the sieve; he gives her the first sip of water and bite of food to end the fast.
Regional variations
How this date is determined
Observed on the Chaturthi tithi of Kartik (Krishna paksha), reckoned by moonrise (chandrodaya). Should the tithi fall across two days, tradition keeps the earlier day (purva-viddha).
Dates are computed to astronomical precision (NASA/JPL ephemeris), in line with traditional panchang.
