Chhath Puja 2003
The Sun and Chhathi Maiya worshipped at riverbanks, Kartika Shukla Shashthi.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)06:04
- Sunset17:19
- Fasting window (tithi)02:05 → 23:54
- Parana (tithi ends)23:54
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 2003
- Makar Sankranti — 14 January 2003
- Vasant Panchami — 6 February 2003
- Maha Shivaratri — 1 March 2003
- Holika Dahan — 17 March 2003
- Holi — 19 March 2003
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 2 April 2003
- Ram Navami — 11 April 2003
- Akshaya Tritiya — 4 May 2003
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 1 July 2003
- Guru Purnima — 13 July 2003
- Nag Panchami — 3 August 2003
- Raksha Bandhan — 12 August 2003
- Krishna Janmashtami — 19 August 2003
- Hartalika Teej — 30 August 2003
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 31 August 2003
- Anant Chaturdashi — 9 September 2003
- Pitru Paksha begins — 11 September 2003
- Sharad Navratri begins — 27 September 2003
- Durga Ashtami — 3 October 2003
- Maha Navami — 4 October 2003
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 4 October 2003
- Karwa Chauth — 14 October 2003
- Dhanteras — 23 October 2003
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 24 October 2003
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 25 October 2003
- Govardhan Puja — 26 October 2003
- Bhai Dooj — 27 October 2003
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 8 November 2003
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 8 November 2003
- Hindu Festivals 2003 →