Chhath Puja 2012
The Sun and Chhathi Maiya worshipped at riverbanks, Kartika Shukla Shashthi.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)06:18
- Sunset17:09
- Fasting window (tithi)2012-11-18 · 11:23 → 09:27
- Parana (tithi ends)09:27
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 2012
- Makar Sankranti — 15 January 2012
- Vasant Panchami — 28 January 2012
- Maha Shivaratri — 20 February 2012
- Holika Dahan — 7 March 2012
- Holi — 9 March 2012
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 23 March 2012
- Ram Navami — 1 April 2012
- Akshaya Tritiya — 24 April 2012
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 21 June 2012
- Guru Purnima — 3 July 2012
- Nag Panchami — 24 July 2012
- Raksha Bandhan — 2 August 2012
- Krishna Janmashtami — 8 September 2012
- Hartalika Teej — 18 September 2012
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 19 September 2012
- Anant Chaturdashi — 29 September 2012
- Pitru Paksha begins — 1 October 2012
- Sharad Navratri begins — 16 October 2012
- Durga Ashtami — 22 October 2012
- Maha Navami — 23 October 2012
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 24 October 2012
- Karwa Chauth — 2 November 2012
- Dhanteras — 11 November 2012
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 13 November 2012
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 13 November 2012
- Govardhan Puja — 14 November 2012
- Bhai Dooj — 15 November 2012
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 28 November 2012
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 28 November 2012
- Hindu Festivals 2012 →