🌙 Karwa Chauth Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the common North-Indian vidhi; your own family's custom comes first — follow what your mother-in-law or mother says.
How to do Karwa Chauth — the steps
- Before sunrise (in Brahma Muhurat), bathe and eat the sargi given by your mother-in-law — pheni, sweets, fruit, dry fruits, mathri — and drink water. After sargi no food or water is taken all day.
- Take the sankalp: 'I keep the waterless Karwa Chauth vrat for my husband's long life and good fortune.'
- During the day do the solah shringar — red/pink saree or lehenga, mehndi, bangles, bindi, sindoor, mangalsutra, anklets, toe-rings.
- In the evening set up the Karwa Chauth calendar/picture (Gauri, Ganesha, the Moon, the karwa) on a wall or wooden seat at the puja place. Fill an earthen or copper karwa with water, place rice and sugar on its lid, draw a swastik on it and tie mauli.
- Prepare the thali — diya, roli, akshat, flowers, sweets, fruit, suhag items, a straw (seenk) to place in the karwa, and a sieve.
- After sunset, in Pradosh Kaal, the married women of the family or neighbourhood sit together, listen to the Karwa Chauth katha and pass the thalis around in a circle (pheri), singing 'Veero kudiye karwada…' or 'Karwa Chauth Mata ki jai'.
- Worship Ganesha, Shiva-Parvati and the Moon; keep the karwa water aside to offer to the Moon.
- At moonrise (time shown above) go to the terrace or courtyard, look at the moon through the sieve, then at your husband's face through the same sieve. Offer arghya to the moon from the copper/earthen karwa and show the diya.
- Break the fast with water and a sweet from your husband's hand. Touch his feet and take blessings.
- Give baya — dry fruits, clothes, shringar items, sweets — to your mother-in-law (or the eldest married woman of the house) and touch her feet. Then eat with the family.
Puja samagri checklist
Collect everything a day before the puja using this list; tick the items as you go.
- Earthen or copper karwa (with spout) and its lid
- Sieve (chhalni)
- Karwa Chauth calendar/picture or Gauri-Ganesha idol
- Earthen diya, ghee, cotton wick
- Roli, kumkum, turmeric, akshat (rice), mauli (kalava)
- Straw (seenk) to place in the karwa
- Flowers and a garland
- Sweets (mathri, pheni, halwa or malpua)
- Fruit — banana, apple, pomegranate
- Suhag items — sindoor, bindi, bangles, mehndi, kajal, comb, mirror
- Gangajal, copper lota
- Rice and sugar (to keep on the karwa lid)
- Baya items — dry fruits, clothes, shringar, dakshina
- Puja thali and aasan (seat)
Sargi and the fast-breaking meal
Sargi is eaten at 4-5 am, before sunrise. Choose foods that keep energy through the day and reduce thirst — avoid very salty or spicy items.
- Sargi: pheni/vermicelli in milk, mathri, halwa, coconut, almonds-cashews-raisins, banana-apple-pomegranate, a glass of water or coconut water
- Breaking the fast: first water and a sweet from the husband's hand; then a light meal — poori, aloo-matar sabzi, kheer or halwa, curd
- If you tend to feel dizzy or weak, speak less during the day, stay out of the sun and do the evening puja sitting down; pregnant and unwell women may keep the vrat with fruit and water — the shastras allow this
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Eat sargi strictly before sunrise — the fast begins at sunrise
- Keep the mind calm through the day; listen to the katha, sing bhajans
- While offering arghya, pour the karwa water in a stream towards the moon, not by spilling
- Look at the moon through the sieve first, then at your husband — keep this order
- Break the fast with water from your husband's hand; do give baya to your mother-in-law
❌ Don't
- Sleeping in the day, using scissors/needle, donating white things (milk, curd, rice) — traditionally avoided
- Do not wear black or white; red, pink and yellow are auspicious
- No insult to any married woman, no lies, no quarrels — they reduce the fruit of the vrat
- Never offer arghya to a false moon (photo/video) — that is the lesson of the katha
- If unwell, do not insist on a waterless fast — a vrat with water and fruit is valid
Vrat katha
Long ago a merchant had seven sons and one daughter, Veeravati. After her marriage she was at her parents' home on her first Karwa Chauth. The beloved sister kept the waterless fast all day, but by evening she began to f… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Karwa Chauth in {Y}?
The date shown at the top is this year's exact date — Kartik Krishna Chaturthi, computed with Swiss Ephemeris panchang calculations. The Delhi moonrise time is shown alongside.
What time will the moon rise on Karwa Chauth?
See 'Moonrise' above for Delhi. In eastern cities (Lucknow, Patna) the moon rises a few minutes earlier and in western cities (Jaipur, Mumbai) a few minutes later — check your city's panchang page.
What if the moon is not visible?
After the moonrise time, face the moon's direction (east) and offer arghya, remembering the moon on Lord Shiva's forehead. Many families in this situation offer arghya to the Tulsi plant or a temple shikhar and break the fast.
Can unmarried girls keep Karwa Chauth?
Yes, unmarried girls keep it wishing for a good husband; they offer arghya to the stars instead of the moon and do not look through the sieve.
How should a pregnant or unwell woman keep the vrat?
Keep it with fruit, milk and water — the shastras allow this for the sick, pregnant and elderly. Listening to the katha with faith and offering the moon arghya is what matters most.
What should sargi contain?
Pheni or vermicelli, mathri, halwa, fruit, dry fruits, coconut and water — light and sweet, so that you feel less thirsty through the day. Avoid very salty or spicy food.
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