Chhath Puja 2026 falls across Friday, 13 November to Monday, 16 November 2026, with the main evening offering—Sandhya Arghya—on Sunday, 15 November. Times Now’s festival hub, Drik Panchang’s city calendar, and matching Prokerala / News18 explainers agree on that four-day Karthik Chhath sheet.
This ADVANCE Culture guide is for searchers who need Chhath Puja dates, the Nahay Khay–Kharna–Arghya sequence, and how the festival differs from Diwali a week earlier—not a city-by-city clock invented at the desk.
Four days of Chhath Puja 2026
Day 1 — Friday, 13 November 2026: Nahay Khay.
Day 2 — Saturday, 14 November 2026: Lohanda & Kharna.
Day 3 — Sunday, 15 November 2026: Sandhya Arghya (main Chhath).
Day 4 — Monday, 16 November 2026: Usha Arghya & Parana.
Spike date for this desk: 15 November—the setting-sun arghya that drives the largest search volume.
What each day means
Nahay Khay: Vrati take a holy dip, often in a river such as the Ganga where geography allows, and eat a single pure home-cooked meal. The day cleanses the household and starts the four-day discipline.
Lohanda & Kharna: A daylight fast ends after sunset with prasad (commonly kheer and roti in popular explainers). After that meal, many observers begin the longer nirjala stretch—no water—through the night and the next day.
Sandhya Arghya: Baskets of prasad go to the riverbank or water body; offerings are made to the setting sun. Drik notes this is the rare moment in the year when arghya is given to the setting Surya. The fast typically continues overnight.
Usha Arghya & Parana: Offerings to the rising sun close the vrat; the roughly 36-hour fast breaks after morning arghya, and prasad is shared with family.
Surya and Chhathi Maiya
Chhath honours Surya (the Sun) and Chhathi Maiya (associated with Usha / Shashthi traditions). The festival name tracks the sixth day (chhath) of the bright fortnight in Kartika for the main autumn observance. It is less about fireworks and more about standing in water, facing the sun, and keeping a rigorous household vrat—which is why Trends queries skew to dates, sunrise/sunset, and “how to observe” rather than gift guides.
Heartland and diaspora
The cultural heartland remains Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with strong observance in adjoining Nepal and growing ghat culture in cities where migrant communities organise river or lake banks—Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and overseas diaspora hubs among them. State holiday lists vary; confirm local gazettes rather than assuming a pan-India paid holiday everywhere.
Delhi example timings (Drik Panchang—verify locally)
Sunrise and sunset move by city. Do not reuse one table nationwide. For Delhi, NCT, Drik Panchang’s 2026 Chhath calendar lists approximately:
• 13 Nov (Nahay Khay): sunrise 6:42 am, sunset 5:28 pm
• 14 Nov (Kharna): sunrise 6:43 am, sunset 5:28 pm
• 15 Nov (Sandhya Arghya): sunrise 6:44 am, sunset 5:27 pm
• 16 Nov (Usha Arghya): sunrise 6:44 am, sunset 5:27 pm
Patna, Mumbai, or overseas cities will differ by many minutes. Always re-check Drik (or your city Panchang) the week of the festival.
People also ask: is Chhath the same as Diwali?
No. Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November—Lakshmi Puja on the Amavasya night—covered in our Diwali 2026 date guide. Chhath is the separate four-day sun arghya vrat that begins days later (13–16 November), after Diwali week. Karva Chauth (moonrise vrat) is another distinct date hub—see Karva Chauth 2026—and should not be collapsed into Chhath SERPs.
Why publish this ADVANCE now
Festival guides India ranks on early, accurate date sheets. Publishing in mid-September seeds the cluster before leave, travel, and ghat-permission queries rise in early November. Pair this page with the Diwali and Karva Chauth hubs above so one keyword family does not cannibalise another.
Sources: Times Now Chhath Puja 2026 hub; Drik Panchang Delhi 2026 Chhath calendar; Prokerala / News18 cross-checks on the four-day sequence. City clocks limited to verified Drik Delhi figures.