Chhath Puja Vidhi · छठ पूजा विधि

When

Chhath is kept over four days, from Kartik Shukla Chaturthi to Saptami, about a week after Diwali; the main evening arghya falls on Shashthi. See the Chhath Puja page for the dates.

Day 1: Nahay-Khay

• The house is cleaned and made pure.
• The vrati (the person keeping the fast) bathes, if possible in a river or pond, and eats one simple, sattvic meal: rice, chana dal and a vegetable of lauki (bottle gourd).

Day 2: Kharna (Lohanda)

• The vrati fasts the whole day without food or water.
• In the evening, prasad of kheer and roti is cooked, traditionally on a clay stove, and offered to Chhathi Maiya; the vrati eats it and it is shared with family and friends.
• From here begins the fast of about 36 hours without water.

Day 3: Sandhya Arghya, the evening offering

• Thekua and other prasad are made at home.
• The prasad, fruits and sugarcane are arranged in bamboo baskets and winnowing trays (soop).
• The family goes to the ghat of a river or pond, and at sunset the vrati, standing in the water, offers arghya to the setting sun.

Day 4: Usha Arghya, the dawn offering

• Before sunrise the family returns to the ghat, and the vrati offers arghya to the rising sun.
• The fast is then broken (parana), and the prasad is shared.

Samagri

• Bamboo soop and baskets
• Thekua and other prasad, fruits, sugarcane and coconut
• Diyas, ghee, dhoop, sindoor, supari
• Milk and water for the arghya

Chhath is the festival of Surya, the Sun, and Chhathi Maiya, kept mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh and by their communities everywhere. It is known for its strict purity and its long fast without water, and for the evening and dawn offerings made standing in a river or pond. This page gives the four days as the published guides listed below describe them; the vrat is demanding, so follow your elders' guidance. Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.