Chhath Puja 2026 Dates: Four Days and Arghya Times by City

Chhath Puja 2026 runs over four days from Friday, November 13, to Monday, November 16, with the main evening offering, Sandhya Arghya, at sunset on Sunday, November 15. In Patna, Drik Panchang gives sunset that day at 5:01 PM IST and sunrise for the closing Usha Arghya on November 16 at 6:07 AM IST. In New Delhi the times are 5:28 PM and 6:44 AM. Because the offerings follow local sunset and sunrise, the minute changes from city to city.

As of October 26, 2026, the dates below come from Drik Panchang's Chhath calendar and match reports in Prabhat Khabar, Amar Ujala, Jansatta, News24 and The Economic Times. The festival starts five days after Diwali, which falls on November 8; see our guide to the Diwali 2026 date and Lakshmi Puja muhurat.

Chhath Puja 2026 dates: the four days

1. Nahay Khay, Friday, November 13 (Chaturthi). Devotees take a ritual bath, ideally in a river or pond, and eat a single sattvic meal. Bottle-gourd curry, chana dal and rice are traditional, according to Jansatta.
2. Kharna (Lohanda), Saturday, November 14 (Panchami). Drik Panchang describes a fast without water from sunrise to sunset, which ends after the evening puja with prasad such as jaggery kheer and roti. Some households also make rasiyav, and Jansatta notes that customs differ by region. After this, vratis begin a waterless fast of about 36 hours, as Prabhat Khabar describes.
3. Sandhya Arghya, Sunday, November 15 (Shashthi). The day is a full fast without water. In the late afternoon, devotees stand in water at a ghat and offer arghya to the setting sun, holding bamboo baskets and soop (winnowing trays) filled with thekua, fruit and sugarcane. Drik Panchang notes that this is the one day of the year when arghya is offered to the setting sun.
4. Usha Arghya and parana, Monday, November 16 (Saptami). The offering to the rising sun closes the festival, and the fast is broken after it.

Shashthi tithi, the sixth lunar day that gives Chhath its name, runs from 11:23 PM IST on November 14 to 2:00 AM IST on November 16, according to Drik Panchang's Chhath Puja page. Amar Ujala and News24 report the same tithi times, which is why the evening arghya falls on November 15.

Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya times by city

The arghya is tied to the moment of sunset and sunrise rather than to a separate muhurat. Drik Panchang's city calendars give these local times for sunset on November 15 and sunrise on November 16:

• Patna: 5:01 PM and 6:07 AM (Patna calendar)
• Ranchi: 5:04 PM and 6:03 AM (Ranchi)
• Kolkata: 4:53 PM and 5:50 AM (Kolkata)
• Varanasi: 5:10 PM and 6:16 AM (Varanasi)
• Lucknow: 5:16 PM and 6:26 AM (Lucknow)
• New Delhi: 5:28 PM and 6:44 AM
• Mumbai: 6:00 PM and 6:46 AM (Mumbai)
• New York (ET): 4:38 PM and 6:44 AM (New York)
• London (GMT): 4:11 PM and 7:20 AM (London)

For Patna, Drik Panchang's main Chhath page gives the same 5:01 PM sunset, while timeanddate.com lists 5:00 PM; one-minute gaps like this are normal between almanacs. Jansatta reports the same New Delhi times as Drik Panchang.

The earlier days have sunrise and sunset times too. In Patna, sunset on Nahay Khay (November 13) is at 5:02 PM and on Kharna (November 14) at 5:01 PM, per Drik Panchang.

For readers in the US and UK

Drik Panchang keeps the same four dates, November 13 to 16, for New York and London. In New York, sunset on November 15 is at 4:38 PM and sunrise on November 16 at 6:44 AM, both in Eastern Standard Time because US clocks fall back on November 1; see our explainer on daylight saving time ending in 2026. In London the times are 4:11 PM and 7:20 AM GMT. Temples and community groups abroad set their own gathering times, so their announcements are the practical guide to when to arrive.

What Chhath means

Chhath is dedicated to Surya, the sun god, and to Chhathi Maiya. Drik Panchang describes Surya as the god of energy and of the life-force, worshipped for well-being, prosperity and progress. It lists other names for the festival, including Surya Shashti, Chhath Parv, Dala Puja and Dala Chhath.

The Economic Times notes that devotees pray for the health, happiness and prosperity of their families, and that the festival is known for its discipline, purity and gratitude to nature. The offerings are simple and home-made, and the central rites take place at rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Customs around prasad, fasting and timing vary between families and regions.

Where Chhath is celebrated

The festival is centred on Bihar and is widely observed in Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, according to Amar Ujala and The Economic Times. ET adds that communities from these regions mark it elsewhere in India and abroad. In Nepal, timeanddate.com lists Chhath (Chhat Parwa) on Sunday, November 15, as a public holiday.

Travel demand peaks around the festival. NDTV reported that Indian Railways is running a 16-coach Vande Bharat festival special between New Delhi and Patna. The Delhi-to-Patna train runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays until November 25, and the return service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays until November 26.

Bank, office and school holidays for Chhath 2026

• Banks: The RBI holiday list (select November 2026) shows a bank holiday on Monday, November 16, in Patna and Ranchi for Chhath. November 14 is the second Saturday and November 15 is a Sunday, so banks in those two cities are shut on all three days.
• Bihar government: The state's 2026 calendar lists Chhath Puja on November 15 and 16 as general holidays, and Kharna on November 14 as a restricted holiday.
• Central government: The DoPT holiday order for 2026 lists Pratihar Shashthi or Surya Shashthi (Chhath Puja) on November 15 as a restricted holiday. Chhath is also on the list of optional holidays that state coordination committees can choose for central offices outside Delhi.
• Schools: Closures are set by state education departments and individual schools, so families should check their school's notice.

Our take

Unlike Diwali this year, when regional calendars disagree about the later days, Chhath dates line up across every source cited here. The real variable is the clock. Sunset in Kolkata on November 15 comes 35 minutes before New Delhi's and more than an hour before Mumbai's, so a single "arghya time" shared on social media may not fit your city. The safest reference is a city-specific panchang or local sunrise and sunset table.

What to watch for

• District administration notices on ghat arrangements, traffic and any river safety advisories.
• Any revision to state holiday lists, school calendars or the RBI list before November 13.
• Later in the month, Guru Nanak Jayanti 2026 falls on Tuesday, November 24.

Frequently asked questions

When is Chhath Puja 2026?

Chhath Puja 2026 runs from Friday, November 13 (Nahay Khay), to Monday, November 16 (Usha Arghya). Kharna is on November 14 and the main Sandhya Arghya is on Sunday, November 15, according to Drik Panchang and several Hindi dailies.

What time is Sandhya Arghya in Patna on November 15, 2026?

Drik Panchang gives sunset in Patna on November 15 at 5:01 PM IST, and timeanddate.com lists 5:00 PM. The offering is made at sunset, so the exact time follows local sunset.

What time is Usha Arghya on November 16, 2026?

Sunrise on November 16 is at 6:07 AM in Patna, 6:03 AM in Ranchi, 5:50 AM in Kolkata and 6:44 AM in New Delhi, according to Drik Panchang city calendars. Times are local to each city.

Is there a bank holiday for Chhath Puja 2026?

Yes, in some cities. The RBI holiday list shows Monday, November 16, as a bank holiday in Patna and Ranchi. November 14 is a second Saturday and November 15 a Sunday, so banks there are closed on all three days.

Sources

1. Chhath Puja 2026 date and time (New Delhi), Drik Panchang
2. Chhath Puja 2026 date and time (Patna), Drik Panchang
3. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (New Delhi), Drik Panchang
4. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (Patna), Drik Panchang
5. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (Ranchi), Drik Panchang
6. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (Kolkata), Drik Panchang
7. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (Varanasi), Drik Panchang
8. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (Lucknow), Drik Panchang
9. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (Mumbai), Drik Panchang
10. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (New York), Drik Panchang
11. Chhath Puja Calendar 2026 (London), Drik Panchang
12. Chhath Puja 2026 Date: 13 November se shuru hoga Chhath mahaparv, Prabhat Khabar
13. Chhath Mahaparv 2026: kab hai Chhath Puja? Nahay-khay, Kharna aur arghya ki tareekh, Amar Ujala
14. Chhath Puja 2026: kab se shuru hoga Chhath mahaparv? Kharna, Nahay-khay se arghya tak ki tithi, muhurat, Jansatta
15. Chhath Puja 2026 Date: kab hai Chhath Puja?, News24
16. November 2026 Hindu Festival Calendar: Diwali, Chhath Puja, Dev Diwali and Other Important Dates, The Economic Times
17. Holidays (November 2026, all regional offices), Reserve Bank of India
18. Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2026 (DoPT O.M. F.No.12/2/2023-JCA, 3 July 2025), Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India (hosted by MEA)
19. Bihar Sarkar 2026 Din-Patri (government calendar and holiday list), Government of Bihar (General Administration Department)
20. Delhi-Patna Vande Bharat Special For Diwali, Chhath: Route, Stops And Fare, NDTV
21. Patna, India: sunrise, sunset and day length, November 2026, timeanddate.com
22. Chhat Parwa 2026 in Nepal, timeanddate.com

How we wrote this

GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 22 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 26, 2026, and we update the post when they change.