Chhath Puja 2016
The Sun and Chhathi Maiya worshipped at riverbanks, Kartika Shukla Shashthi.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)06:09
- Sunset17:14
- Fasting window (tithi)2016-11-05 · 10:49 → 12:19
- Parana (tithi ends)12:19
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 2016
- Makar Sankranti — 15 January 2016
- Vasant Panchami — 13 February 2016
- Maha Shivaratri — 7 March 2016
- Holika Dahan — 22 March 2016
- Holi — 24 March 2016
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 8 April 2016
- Ram Navami — 15 April 2016
- Akshaya Tritiya — 9 May 2016
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 6 July 2016
- Guru Purnima — 19 July 2016
- Nag Panchami — 7 August 2016
- Raksha Bandhan — 18 August 2016
- Krishna Janmashtami — 24 August 2016
- Hartalika Teej — 4 September 2016
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 5 September 2016
- Anant Chaturdashi — 15 September 2016
- Pitru Paksha begins — 17 September 2016
- Sharad Navratri begins — 1 October 2016
- Durga Ashtami — 9 October 2016
- Maha Navami — 10 October 2016
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 11 October 2016
- Karwa Chauth — 19 October 2016
- Dhanteras — 28 October 2016
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 29 October 2016
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 30 October 2016
- Govardhan Puja — 31 October 2016
- Bhai Dooj — 1 November 2016
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 14 November 2016
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 14 November 2016
- Hindu Festivals 2016 →