About Karva Chauth
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- 🙏 Deity: Goddess Gauri (Parvati) and Moon God Chandra
- 📅 Karva Chauth 2026 date:
- ⏳ Duration: 1 day (sunrise to moonrise)
- 🌙 Lunar month: Kartik
- 🗺️ Celebrated in: Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, MP
Karva Chauth is one of the most cherished festivals celebrated by married Hindu women, particularly in North India. Observed on the fourth day of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Kartik, this day-long nirjala fast — meaning no food or water — is an extraordinary act of love and devotion. Women wake before sunrise, eat a pre-dawn meal called Sargi prepared by their mothers-in-law, and then abstain from all food and water until the moonrise in the evening.
The rituals of Karva Chauth center around the worship of Goddess Gauri (Parvati) and the moon. Women dress in bridal finery, apply mehndi, and gather in groups to listen to the Karva Chauth Katha — the sacred story of a devoted wife whose faith saved her husband's life. The story of Queen Veeravati and tales of Savitri's devotion are traditionally narrated during the puja. The earthen pot called a karva, filled with water and sweets, is central to the rituals.
As the moon rises, women sight it through a sieve, then look at their husband's face through the same sieve before the husband offers water to break the fast. This symbolic act represents the filtering of all negativity and the blessings of long life upon the husband. The festival is immensely popular in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh and has become a pan-Indian celebration of marital devotion and love.
Significance of Karva Chauth
Karva Chauth holds profound spiritual, emotional, and cultural significance in Hindu tradition:
Deities worshipped on Karva Chauth
Follow the links to explore each deity’s mantras, stories, and temples on Temples.bio.
Lord Shiva
Gauri-Shankar — the divine couple whose eternal bond Karva Chauth commemorates
The Supreme Destroyer and Transformer of the Universe — The Adiyogi, Lord of Lords, and the First Yogi.
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Goddess Durga
Goddess Gauri as a form of Durga-Parvati, the presiding deity of the fast
The Invincible Mother Goddess — Supreme Feminine Power who destroys evil, protects the righteous, and embodies the divine energy of the entire universe.
View deity →Karva Chauth centers on the worship of Goddess Gauri (a form of Parvati) and the moon god Chandra. Goddess Gauri, as the ideal devoted wife of Lord Shiva, is the presiding deity of this festival and embodies the virtues of marital fidelity, love, and sacrifice. Women invoke her blessings to mirror her own eternal bond with Shiva and to ensure their husbands' long life and health.
The moon god Chandra plays an equally vital role. As the celestial body that controls the tides of life, fertility, and time, the moon's sighting marks the culmination of the fast. The act of viewing the moon through a sieve and then seeing the husband's face is symbolic of invoking the moon's blessings upon the husband. Together, Gauri and Chandra represent divine feminine devotion and the cosmic cycles of renewal and protection that Karva Chauth honors.
How to celebrate Karva Chauth 2026
1. Wake before sunrise and consume the pre-dawn Sargi meal prepared by your mother-in-law.
2. Begin the nirjala fast at sunrise — no food or water throughout the day.
3. Dress in bridal attire: red or traditional saree/lehenga, bangles, sindoor, and mehndi.
4. In the evening, gather with other women and arrange the puja thali with: karva (earthen pot) filled with water, diya (lamp), flowers, roli, akshat, sweets, and a sieve.
5. Listen to or recite the Karva Chauth Katha together.
6. Perform the puja: offer flowers and prayers to the image of Goddess Gauri, light the diya, and pass the thali around the circle.
7. At moonrise, sight the moon through the sieve with the diya light.
8. Then look at your husband's face through the same sieve.
9. The husband offers water to the wife to break the fast.
10. Touch your husband's feet, seek his blessings, and share the puja prasad and sweets.
Rituals & regional traditions
Spiritual benefits
Mantras & sacred chants
1. Om Namah Shivaya (for Goddess Gauri-Shankar)
Sanskrit: ॐ नमः शिवाय
Meaning: I bow to Lord Shiva — the supreme consciousness; chanting this mantra invokes the divine couple Gauri-Shankar's blessings on the marital bond.
2. Karva Chauth Moon Prayer
Sanskrit: ॐ शशिधराय नमः
Meaning: Om, I bow to the one who holds the moon — an invocation to the moon god to bless the husband with long life and the couple with happiness.
3. Gauri Puja Mantra
Sanskrit: सुभग त्वं सदा भव, सौभाग्यं देहि मे सदा
Meaning: May you always be auspicious; grant me the blessing of saubhagya (marital bliss) always — recited while performing Goddess Gauri's puja.
Karva Chauth 2026 — FAQs
Karva Chauth 2026 falls on Saturday, October 10, 2026. It is observed on the Chaturthi tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Kartik.
The Karva Chauth fast begins at sunrise on October 10, 2026, and ends after sighting the moon at moonrise in the evening. Women also observe a pre-dawn meal (Sargi) before sunrise.
Sargi is a pre-dawn meal gifted by the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law before the Karva Chauth fast begins. It typically includes sevaiyan, fruits, mathri, and sweets, consumed before sunrise.
Sighting the moon through a sieve (chalni) symbolizes filtering all negativity and evil. After viewing the moon, women look at their husband's face through the same sieve as a blessing for his long life, before he offers water to break the fast.
Goddess Gauri (Parvati), the ideal devoted wife of Lord Shiva, is the main deity worshipped on Karva Chauth. The moon god Chandra is also invoked at moonrise.
Yes, Karva Chauth is traditionally observed as a nirjala fast — meaning no food or water from sunrise until moonrise, making it one of the most rigorous one-day fasts in Hindu tradition.
Karva Chauth is most widely celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. It has also become popular across India and among the Indian diaspora worldwide.
The Karva Chauth puja thali includes: a karva (earthen pot) with water, a diya (lamp), a sieve (chalni), flowers, roli, akshat (rice), sweets, sindoor, and an image or idol of Goddess Gauri.
