Chhath 2083

Four-day festival in Kartik. Offerings are made at the riverbank to the setting sun and the rising sun.

in 9 days

The main day of Chhath is six tithis after Laxmi Puja, a few days after Bhai Tika. It is kept mainly in the Tarai-Madhesh and by Madhesi families in other parts of Nepal. The festival lasts four days and includes a nirjala fast (no food or water) of about thirty-six hours. The two main rituals are the arghyas at the ghat: one to the setting sun in the evening and one to the rising sun the next morning. The dates are below.

Chhath dates

BS 2083

Events	BS Date	AD Date	Day
Chhath ParvaHoliday	29 Kartik 2083	15 Nov 2026	Sunday

The four days of Chhath

Nahay Khay to Usha Arghya

Day 1, Nahay Khay: the house is cleaned, and the vratin (the person keeping the fast) bathes in the river and eats one meal of rice, bottle gourd and chana dal, cooked on a new clay stove with mango wood. Day 2, Kharna: the vratin fasts all day and breaks the fast after sunset with kheer made of jaggery and rice, roti and fruit. The nirjala fast starts as soon as this meal ends and lasts about thirty-six hours. Day 3: in the evening the family walks to the ghat with bamboo baskets of thekua, sugarcane and fruit. The vratin stands in the water and offers Sandhya Arghya to the setting sun. Day 4: the family goes back before dawn for Usha Arghya to the rising sun, and the vratin breaks the fast there at the ghat.

Who keeps it and where

Chhath is the biggest festival in the Tarai-Madhesh. It is kept along the Koshi and the Bagmati and at canals and ponds where a ghat can be set up. In Kathmandu, Madhesi families gather at the Bagmati ghats near Guheshwari and at Kamal Pokhari, and the municipality cleans and lights these places beforehand. Most vratins are women, but men also keep the fast. No priest is needed. Each household performs the rituals itself.

Holidays and practical information

Chhath is a public holiday in Nepal, usually for one or two days around the evening arghya. Madhesh Province adds its own holidays. Roads near the ghats are closed. Extra buses run to the Tarai in the days before Chhath, and tickets on eastern routes are as hard to get as at Dashain.

How the date is fixed

The main day is Kartik Shukla Shashthi, six days after the amavasya of Laxmi Puja. Both festivals move against the BS calendar, but Chhath always comes the same number of tithis after Tihar. A second Chhath is kept in Chaitra on the same tithi, by far fewer households.

Common mistakes

For the morning arghya, arrive well before sunrise. Families are in place before first light. Carry offerings in bamboo baskets, not plastic bags. The offerings are traditionally made at home, not bought as prasad from a shop. Do not plan to drive near a ghat on the evening of Sandhya Arghya, because the roads close then.

Questions about Chhath

How long is the Chhath fast?

About thirty-six hours without food or water, from the Kharna meal on the second evening to the morning arghya on the fourth day.

Is Chhath a public holiday?

Yes. The main day is a national holiday, and Madhesh Province gives additional days.

Can men keep the Chhath fast?

Yes. Most vratins are women, but men keep it in many families, often after making a vow.

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