Chhath Puja 1996
The Sun and Chhathi Maiya worshipped at riverbanks, Kartika Shukla Shashthi.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)06:16
- Sunset17:09
- Fasting window (tithi)00:06 → 21:50
- Parana (tithi ends)21:50
Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.
Read the Chhath Puja puja vidhi, vrat rules and kathaChhath Puja — Frequently Asked Questions
Why is arghya offered to the setting sun first?
Chhath is nearly unique in worshipping the setting sun before the rising one. The sun is thanked as it declines, on the evening of Shashthi, and greeted as it returns the following dawn on Saptami.
How long is the Chhath fast?
Roughly thirty-six hours without food or water, beginning after the Kharna meal on the second evening and ending only after the Usha Arghya on the fourth morning.
Why is no salt used in the Chhath prasad?
Thekua and the offerings are made in a state of strict purity — no salt, nothing tasted while cooking, and the fire is a mud stove fed with mango wood.
Other major festivals in 1996
- Makar Sankranti — 14 January 1996
- Vasant Panchami — 24 January 1996
- Maha Shivaratri — 17 February 1996
- Holika Dahan — 4 March 1996
- Holi — 6 March 1996
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 20 March 1996
- Ram Navami — 28 March 1996
- Akshaya Tritiya — 20 April 1996
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 17 July 1996
- Guru Purnima — 30 July 1996
- Nag Panchami — 19 August 1996
- Raksha Bandhan — 28 August 1996
- Krishna Janmashtami — 4 September 1996
- Hartalika Teej — 16 September 1996
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 16 September 1996
- Anant Chaturdashi — 26 September 1996
- Pitru Paksha begins — 28 September 1996
- Sharad Navratri begins — 13 October 1996
- Durga Ashtami — 20 October 1996
- Maha Navami — 21 October 1996
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 21 October 1996
- Karwa Chauth — 29 October 1996
- Dhanteras — 8 November 1996
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 10 November 1996
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 10 November 1996
- Govardhan Puja — 12 November 1996
- Bhai Dooj — 13 November 1996
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 25 November 1996
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 25 November 1996
- Hindu Festivals 1996 →