Karwa Chauth: The Fasting Festival for Marital Longevity
A Kartik vrat that ends at moonrise — married women fast from sunrise to chandra darshan for the long life of their husbands, and the exact moonrise time depends on your city.
Date
Tuesday, 19 October 2027
Moonrise Muhurat
No moonrise
Tithi Timings
Chaturthi Begins
08:22 AM on Oct 18, 2027
Chaturthi Ends
07:12 AM on Oct 19, 2027
View Panchang & Choghadiya
What is Karwa Chauth?
The decisive moment of Karwa Chauth is moonrise (chandrodaya). Married women break their day-long fast only after sighting the moon, so the exact moonrise time — which varies from city to city — is what the whole day builds toward. This page gives the chandrodaya time and evening puja muhurat for your selected city.
Married women keep a day-long nirjala vrat (without food or water) from sunrise until they sight the moon, praying for the longevity, health, and prosperity of their husbands.
Observed on Kartik Krishna Chaturthi, about nine days before Diwali, the fast begins before dawn with sargi, is centred on the evening Karwa Chauth katha and puja, and is broken only after chandra darshan at moonrise.
Religious and Cultural Significance
Karwa Chauth celebrates marital devotion and the bond between husband and wife, invoking the blessings of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, and Karwa Mata.
The nirjala vrat is a discipline of faith and endurance, observed collectively by women who gather to hear the vrat katha and worship together in the evening.
Culturally, the festival brings families together with shringar, mehendi, festive attire, and the gifting of sargi and baya between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.
Rituals and Traditions
- Rise before dawn and eat sargi — the pre-sunrise meal prepared by the mother-in-law — before beginning the fast.
- Observe a strict nirjala vrat through the day, abstaining from food and water as per family tradition.
- Apply mehendi, wear festive shringar and traditional attire, and prepare the karwa (earthen pot) and puja thali.
- Gather in the late afternoon or evening with other women to hear the Karwa Chauth vrat katha and pass the puja thali.
- Perform the evening puja of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, and Karwa Mata, offering water, sindoor, flowers, and sweets.
- Await moonrise, then view the moon through a sieve (chhalni) followed by the reflection of the husband.
- Break the fast when the husband offers the first sip of water and a morsel of food, seeking blessings from elders.
Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step)
Wake before sunrise, bathe, eat sargi, and take the sankalpa for the nirjala vrat.
In the evening, prepare the puja space with a karwa filled with water, a lit diya, roli, akshat, and naivedya.
Invoke Lord Ganesha first, then worship Shiva, Parvati, and Karwa Mata with flowers, sindoor, and incense.
Recite or listen to the Karwa Chauth vrat katha with the puja thali, keeping the karwa before the deities.
At moonrise, offer arghya (water) to the moon and perform chandra darshan through a chhalni.
View the husband through the same sieve, then break the vrat with water and food offered by him.
Seek the blessings of elders and share prasad and baya as per family custom.
Traditional Offerings
Common offerings and observances for Karwa Chauth include:
- A water-filled karwa (earthen pot) with a spout, central to the puja and moon arghya
- Sindoor, roli, akshat, and flowers for Parvati and Karwa Mata
- Fruits, sweets, and sattvic naivedya offered with the vrat sankalpa
- Sargi and baya — food and shringar gifts exchanged between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
- A ghee diya, incense, and a chhalni (sieve) for chandra darshan
- Prasad and dakshina shared with family and elders