Chhath Puja is one of the oldest and most physically demanding festivals in the Hindu calendar — a four-day offering of thanks to Surya Devta, the Sun God, and Chhathi Maiya. It is celebrated with enormous devotion across Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and the Terai region of Nepal, and increasingly by Indian communities abroad wherever a riverbank, pond, or large water body can be found. In 2026, Chhath Puja falls from 13 to 16 November.
Unlike most Hindu festivals, Chhath has no idol or murti at its centre. It is a Vedic-era form of nature worship built around fasting, standing in water, and offering arghya (water and fruit offerings) to the setting and rising sun. If you are observing the vrat this year, or helping a family member prepare their puja thali, here is what you need to know about the dates, the four-day vidhi, and the samagri list.
Chhath Puja 2026 Dates
- Nahay Khay — Friday, 13 November: The vratis (observers) bathe, usually in a river or pond, and eat a simple, freshly cooked satvik meal of rice, chana dal, and lauki (bottle gourd) sabzi. This marks the start of the fast.
- Kharna — Saturday, 14 November: A day-long nirjala (waterless) fast that ends after sunset with kheer made from jaggery and rice, along with roti. Once the vrati eats, the main 36-hour fast begins.
- Sandhya Arghya — Sunday, 15 November: The most visually striking day. Families carry their soop (bamboo winnowing baskets) filled with fruit, thekua, and sugarcane to the ghat and offer arghya to the setting sun while standing in water.
- Usha Arghya — Monday, 16 November: Before sunrise, the same ritual is repeated for the rising sun, after which the 36-hour fast is broken and prasad is distributed.
Sunrise and sunset times shift slightly from city to city, so if you are coordinating arghya timing precisely, cross-check your local panchang closer to the date rather than relying on a single national timing.
Understanding the Four-Day Vidhi
Each day of Chhath builds on the one before it. Nahay Khay is about purification — the home, the kitchen, and the body are all made ready before the fast begins. Kharna is the hardest day for the vrati, since no water is taken until the kheer offering at dusk. The two Arghya days are communal: whole families walk to the ghat together, and the puja space itself becomes the home or riverside platform where the soop is arranged, the diya is lit, and offerings are made facing the sun.
Because there is no murti to install, the "altar" for Chhath is really the arrangement of samagri in the soop and around it — which is exactly why having the right items ready, and ready early, matters so much on these days.
Complete Chhath Puja Samagri List
Requirements vary a little by family tradition, but most households preparing for Chhath keep the following ready well before Nahay Khay:
- Bamboo soop (winnowing baskets) and dauri (bamboo baskets), typically one set per vrati
- Thekua (the signature wheat-and-jaggery sweet) and other home-made prasad
- Sugarcane, bananas, coconut, oranges, sweet lime, apples, and other seasonal fruit
- A diya and ghee or mustard oil for lighting it at the ghat and at home
- Dhoop and camphor, for purifying the puja space before and after the arghya
- Sindoor, akshat (unbroken rice), turmeric, and a small ginger or turmeric plant with roots
- Betel leaves and areca nut (paan-supari)
- A brass or copper lota for pouring the water offering
- New or freshly washed clothes — usually a dhoti for men and a saree for women
- A clean mat or cloth to sit and stand on near the water's edge
Choosing Dhoop and Camphor for Your Chhath Thali
Dhoop and camphor are lit at the start and close of the ritual to purify the space around the soop, much as they are used at the start of any puja — this is a matter of tradition and ambiance, not a medical claim about what the smoke does. Most families prefer a dhoop that is simple and not overpowering, since it will be used outdoors near food offerings and other devotees. A Pure Gugal Dhoop works well for this — it is a traditional resin dhoop commonly used in havans and purification rituals, with a grounded, resinous character that doesn't compete with the fruit and thekua on the soop.
For the camphor needed at both Sandhya and Usha Arghya, a natural Bhimseni Camphor pouch is worth keeping on hand — it burns cleanly and is easy to carry to the ghat in its resealable pouch, which matters when you are also managing a soop, fruit, and a fasting family member. If you'd rather sort out your entire thali in one go, our Puja Samagri collection brings together dhoop, camphor, and other essentials used across Chhath and the rest of the Kartik month festivals.
A Few Practical Tips for Chhath Puja 2026
- Prepare the samagri basket a day ahead. Between the Kharna fast and the walk to the ghat, there is very little time on 15 and 16 November to go shopping.
- Carry a little extra dhoop and camphor. Ghats get crowded, items get shared between neighbouring families, and it's common to run short.
- Check your city's exact arghya timing close to the date. Sunrise and sunset shift by several minutes across North India, and the Usha Arghya in particular has a narrow window.
- Keep the fast-breaking meal simple and ready. After a 36-hour vrat, most families prefer food that's already prepared rather than something that needs last-minute cooking.
- If you can't reach a river or large pond, many residential colonies and temples now set up temporary arghya ghats with a water tank — ask locally if you're new to an area.
However you are observing it this year, Chhath Puja's quiet, disciplined rhythm — bath, fast, offering, fast again, offering again — is part of what has kept it so deeply rooted for generations. Getting the samagri sorted early is one less thing to worry about once the vrat itself begins.