Karwa Chauth 2026: Date (Thursday 29 October), Moonrise Time City-Wise, Puja Muhurat, Sargi and Vrat Katha

Quick answer: Karwa Chauth 2026 is on Thursday 29 October in India. In New Delhi, Drik Panchang gives the puja muhurat as 5:38 PM to 6:56 PM, the fast from 6:31 AM to 8:17 PM and moonrise at 8:17 PM. In the USA and Canada, Karwa Chauth is on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Find your city's moonrise, muhurat and fasting time below; the fast is broken only after the moon is seen and offered arghya.

Last updated: 21 October 2026. India timings are from Drik Panchang's Karwa Chauth 2026 page for each city, checked on 21 October 2026. See also the full panchang for 29 October 2026.

Karwa Chauth 2026 kab hai: date, tithi and timings

Drik Panchang notes that the month is called Kartik in the North Indian calendar and Ashwin in the amanta calendar of Gujarat, Maharashtra and South India, but Karwa Chauth is observed on the same day in every state.

Karwa Chauth 2026 chand kab niklega: moonrise, puja muhurat and fast time by city

All times are local (IST) for Thursday 29 October 2026, from Drik Panchang's page for each city. The fast runs from sunrise to moonrise; the puja is done in the muhurat, before the moon rises.

Moonrise can look a few minutes later if buildings or hills hide the horizon. For any city not listed, use your own city's panchang; do not add or subtract minutes from Delhi.

Karwa Chauth 2026 moonrise in the USA, Canada, the UK and abroad

In North America, Karwa Chauth is on Wednesday 28 October 2026, a day before India, because the Chaturthi tithi is present at moonrise on that evening there.

These moonrise times abroad are computed from astronomical data and cross-checked against Drik Panchang for several cities (within about five minutes); treat them as a guide and watch the sky a little early. For more cities see the guides for the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia and New Zealand.

Why is Karwa Chauth on 28 October in the USA?

Karwa Chauth is kept on the day when Kartik Krishna Chaturthi is present at moonrise. The tithi begins at 1:06 AM IST on 29 October, which is the afternoon of 28 October in North America, so the Chaturthi moon rises there on the evening of the 28th. In India, the UK, the Gulf, Singapore and Australia the Chaturthi moonrise is on the 29th. If your family in India fasts on the 29th and you are in New Jersey or Toronto, you fast on the 28th using your own city's moonrise.

Sargi: what to eat and when

Sargi is the pre-dawn meal, traditionally sent or given by the mother-in-law, that begins the fast. Eat it before sunrise: the fast begins at 6:31 AM in New Delhi, 6:14 AM in Lucknow, 6:34 AM in Jaipur and 6:37 AM in Mumbai (Drik Panchang upavasa times).

• Fenia or sevaiyan (sweet vermicelli), the traditional centrepiece in Punjabi homes
• Fresh fruit, dry fruit and coconut for slow energy
• Paratha, mathri or a light sabzi
• Milk, curd or lassi, and a sweet
• Plenty of water and coconut water, especially if you keep a waterless fast

In many families the mother-in-law also sends a baya in the evening: a gift of clothes, sweets and shringar items. Customs differ between Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, so follow your own family's practice.

Karwa Chauth puja samagri

Karwa Chauth puja vidhi: step by step

1. Before sunrise: eat sargi, bathe, and take the sankalpa to keep the vrat for your husband's long life and wellbeing.
2. During the day: keep the fast (nirjala, or with water or fruit as your health allows); apply mehndi and prepare the puja.
3. Evening, within the muhurat: set up a picture of Chauth Mata and of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, with the filled karwa, a diya and the thali.
4. Katha: gather with other women, light the diya and hear or read the Karwa Chauth vrat katha. In many Punjabi families the women sit in a circle and pass their thalis round while singing.
5. Moonrise: when the moon appears, look at it through the chhalni, offer arghya (water) from the karwa, then look at your husband through the chhalni.
6. Break the fast: take the first sip of water and the first bite of food from your husband, then share the prasad.

Karwa Chauth vrat katha: the story of Veeravati

The katha most often read on Karwa Chauth, and the one Drik Panchang gives, is the story of Veeravati and her seven brothers. Here it is in brief, in our own words:

Veeravati was the only sister of seven loving brothers. In the first year of her marriage she kept the Karwa Chauth fast at her parents' home and became faint with hunger. Her brothers could not bear to see her suffer. One of them climbed a distant banyan tree with a lamp behind a sieve, and the others told her the moon had risen. Believing it, she offered arghya to the lamp and broke her fast.

At once there were bad omens, and when she reached her husband's home she found him dead. As she grieved, the goddess Indrani, wife of Indra, came to her and explained that she had broken the fast before the true moonrise without offering arghya to the moon. Indrani told her to keep the Chauth fast every month for a year, including the next Karwa Chauth. Veeravati did so with complete faith, and through the merit of those fasts her husband was restored to life.

Variations: families tell the story with differences. In some tellings it is Goddess Parvati who guides Veeravati, and the details of the omens and the year of fasting vary. Other stories are also told on the day, among them Savitri and Satyavan and the story of a devoted wife named Karva; see the history and legends behind Karwa Chauth. Summary based on Drik Panchang's Karwa Chauth legends page.

First Karwa Chauth and family traditions

• First Karwa Chauth: a new bride's first fast is often celebrated by both families, with sargi and baya from the mother-in-law and new clothes or jewellery.
• Unmarried women: some keep the vrat for a good life partner, and some families let them complete it at star sighting instead of moonrise.
• Husbands: many husbands now keep the fast too, or join the evening puja.
• Same day in South India: Telugu women keep Atla Tadde, another moonrise fast, on Wednesday 28 October 2026; see Atla Tadde 2026.

Health note for the nirjala fast

Karwa Chauth is an offering of love, not a test of endurance. Pregnant and nursing women, and anyone with diabetes, low or high blood pressure, kidney problems, a heart condition or on regular medication, should consult a doctor before fasting. Taking water, fruit, milk or coconut water, or keeping only the evening puja and katha, is a full and valid way to observe the day. Eat a balanced sargi, rest in the afternoon, and break the fast gently with water and light food. See also why Hindus fast and the types of upavasa.

If the moon is late or hidden

• Late moonrise: in Mumbai and Bengaluru the moon rises around 9 PM, and in Australia after 11 PM; plan the puja around your own city's time.
• Clouds: wait until a little after your listed moonrise, then offer arghya facing east, where the moon rises.
• No clear horizon: go to a balcony or terrace. The same moonrise rules apply on Sankashti Chaturthi.

Four days later, mothers keep Ahoi Ashtami on Sunday 1 November 2026. For the rest of the month, see the October 2026 festival calendar and the Kartik and Karthika 2026 calendar.

Frequently asked questions

Karwa Chauth 2026 kab hai (when is Karwa Chauth 2026)?

In India, Karwa Chauth 2026 is on Thursday 29 October. Drik Panchang gives Chaturthi tithi from 1:06 AM on 29 October to 10:09 PM the same night (IST), so the Chaturthi moonrise falls on the evening of the 29th. In the USA and Canada it is kept on Wednesday 28 October, because there the Chaturthi moonrise falls on that evening.

What time will the moon rise on Karwa Chauth 2026 in Delhi?

8:17 PM in New Delhi, according to Drik Panchang. Other cities differ: 8:06 PM in Lucknow, 8:28 PM in Jaipur, 7:52 PM in Patna, 9:00 PM in Mumbai and 7:47 PM in Kolkata. See the city table above, and step out a few minutes early.

What is the Karwa Chauth 2026 puja muhurat?

In New Delhi, 5:38 PM to 6:56 PM (1 hour 17 minutes), per Drik Panchang. The muhurat follows each city's sunset: 5:26 PM to 6:43 PM in Lucknow, 5:46 PM to 7:03 PM in Jaipur, 6:07 PM to 7:22 PM in Mumbai.

When should sargi be eaten?

Before sunrise, because the fast runs from sunrise to moonrise. In New Delhi the fast begins at 6:31 AM (Drik Panchang's upavasa time), in Lucknow at 6:14 AM and in Mumbai at 6:37 AM. Most families eat sargi in the hour before dawn and drink plenty of water with it.

Is Karwa Chauth on the same day as Sankashti Chaturthi?

Yes. Both fall on Kartik Krishna Chaturthi, and Drik Panchang lists Vakratunda Sankashti Chaturthi on the same day, Thursday 29 October 2026. This is why Ganesha is worshipped in the Karwa Chauth puja along with Shiva and Parvati.

Can women with health conditions keep the nirjala fast?

They should not keep it without a doctor's advice. Pregnant and nursing women, and anyone with diabetes, low or high blood pressure, kidney problems or on regular medication, can keep the vrat with water, fruit or milk, or keep only the evening puja and katha. Families across North India accept this, and the vrat remains complete.

What if the moon is hidden by clouds?

Wait until a little after your city's moonrise time in the table, then offer arghya facing the moon's direction (east) and complete the puja. Many families confirm with relatives in a nearby city where the sky is clear.

Editor's note (21 October 2026)

We upgraded this page on 21 October 2026. The India moonrise times now come from Drik Panchang's Karwa Chauth 2026 page for each of 21 cities (our earlier computed values were one to two minutes early in most cities, for example Mumbai 9:02 PM instead of 9:00 PM), and we added each city's puja muhurat and fasting window. We added the tithi times, sargi timing, a samagri list, the Veeravati katha summarised from Drik Panchang with its common variations, and a fuller health note. The abroad moonrise tables are unchanged.

Related guides

• Karwa Chauth 2026 USA: moonrise time city by city
• Karwa Chauth 2026 Canada: moonrise time city by city
• Karwa Chauth 2026 UK: moonrise time city by city
• Karwa Chauth 2026 in Europe
• The history and legends behind Karwa Chauth
• Ahoi Ashtami 2026