Chhath Puja 2026: Sandhya and Usha Arghya Time in Your City
The full 4-day calendar for Chhath 2026, with exact sunset and sunrise arghya times for 36 cities (including Patna, Ranchi, Delhi and Mumbai), a soop and prasad checklist, and how to get through the 36-hour nirjala fast safely.
Chhath Puja 2026 dates at a glance
Arghya time in your city
🌅 Sunset and sunrise arghya for you
Pick your city. The card counts down to the next Chhath event.
🪔 Why these dates?
Chhath falls on Kartik Shukla Shashthi, six days after Diwali (8 November 2026). In 2026, Shashthi tithi runs from 11:24 PM on 14 November to 2:01 AM on 16 November (IST). That makes the evening arghya on Sunday, 15 November and the morning arghya on Monday, 16 November. Nahay Khay (Chaturthi) and Kharna (Panchami) fall on the two days before.
The Central Government’s 2026 holiday list also marks Pratihar Shashthi / Surya Shashthi (Chhath Puja) on 15 November.
Sandhya and Usha Arghya time: 36 cities
Times are IST and mark the moment the sun’s upper edge touches a flat horizon. Reach the ghat 30 to 45 minutes before the arghya time; at a riverbank, buildings and trees on the far side can hide the sun a few minutes early in the evening or late in the morning.
| City | Kharna (sunset, 14 Nov) | Sandhya Arghya (15 Nov) | Usha Arghya (16 Nov) |
|---|
What happens on each day
Nahay Khay Friday, 13 November
The vrati (person fasting) bathes, ideally in a river or pond, and the house is cleaned thoroughly. They eat a single sattvik meal cooked without onion or garlic, usually in rock salt: kaddu-bhaat with lauki, chana dal and rice. The family eats only after the vrati.
Kharna (Lohanda) Saturday, 14 November
The vrati fasts all day, even from water. After sunset they make rasiya or gur kheer and roti (often on a new clay chulha with mango wood), offer it to Chhathi Maiya, and eat it as prasad in quiet. This begins the 36-hour nirjala fast, which ends only after the Usha Arghya.
Sandhya Arghya Sunday, 15 November
Thekua and other prasad are made at home through the day. In the afternoon the family carries the daura (bamboo basket) to the ghat. Standing in waist-deep water, the vrati offers arghya of water or milk to the setting sun with the soop (winnowing basket) full of fruits and thekua. Many families stay at the ghat or come home for Kosi bharai at night.
Usha Arghya and parana Monday, 16 November
Families return to the ghat before dawn. The vrati offers arghya to the rising sun, prays to Chhathi Maiya, and breaks the fast (parana) with prasad, ginger and water. Prasad is then shared with everyone at the ghat and at home.
Soop, daura and prasad checklist
🧺 Tick off what you have
Tap each item as you arrange it. Regional customs vary, so add anything your family uses.
Getting through the 36-hour nirjala fast
From the Kharna prasad on Saturday night to parana on Monday morning is about 36 to 37 hours without food or water, much of it in the cold at the ghat. Plan for it:
Before Kharna
- Drink plenty of water and coconut water on 13 and 14 November.
- Eat a full, filling Kharna prasad; kheer and roti give slow energy.
- Sleep early on Kharna night. The next day is long.
At the ghat
- Carry a shawl and a dry change of clothes for after the water. November mornings in Bihar and UP can drop to 12–15 °C.
- Keep elderly vratis seated until arghya time, and stand in the water only as long as needed.
- Keep children away from deep or fast water, and agree on a meeting point in case anyone gets separated.
Breaking the fast
- Start with a little water, ginger and prasad, then wait 20–30 minutes.
- Eat light first (fruit, kheer, dal-rice) before anything fried.
- If you feel faint, cold or have palpitations at any point, sit down, keep warm and get help.
🩺 Health note
A 36-hour fast without water is a serious strain. If you are pregnant, elderly, diabetic, have heart or kidney disease or take regular medicines, talk to your doctor before keeping it nirjala; many families allow a modified fast. In Delhi, avoid dipping in visibly polluted Yamuna water and use the artificial ghats many RWAs and local bodies set up. This is general information, not medical advice.
FAQs
Related reads
Sources and method
- Sunrise and sunset: calculated by WellthRise for each city using the NASA JPL DE421 ephemeris (Skyfield), with standard refraction and the sun’s upper edge.
- Shashthi tithi: WellthRise calculation (moon–sun angle of 60° to 72°), cross-checked with Drik Panchang’s Chhath 2026 dates.
- DoPT: Restricted holidays 2026, Pratihar / Surya Shashthi (Chhath Puja), 15 November.
Times are for flat-horizon conditions and may differ by a minute or two from your local panchang. Rituals vary by region and family, so follow your family’s tradition. Health tips are general information, not medical advice.
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