Shiva-Parvati · Chandra
Karwa Chauth
A day's fast from sunrise to moonrise, kept for the beloved's long life.
Tithi: Kartik Krishna Chaturthi (north) · Ashwin Krishna Chaturthi (west & south) — the same night
Which calendar do you follow?
The bright fortnight is named the same everywhere. A dark fortnight belongs to one month in the north and to the month before it in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south — the same night, two true names. Saved only on this device.
In the simplest words
Wives fast from sunrise for their husbands' long life, dress like brides, and eat only after spotting the moon through a sieve — love, kept as a vrat.
The story & purpose
Wives — and now often husbands too — fast without water from the pre-dawn sargi until the moon rises, when it is viewed through a sieve beside the beloved's face, and the fast opens from their hand. The karwa (clay pot) gives the vrat its name.
One telling of its origin is older than its films: a harvest-season pact among women, the 'karwa' being the clay pot of wheat that friends exchanged, promising each other lifelong sisterhood in their new households.
What is done
Sargi
The pre-dawn meal, traditionally from the mother-in-law.
Katha & baya
The afternoon telling of the Karwa Chauth katha in a circle of karwas.
Moonrise arghya
Arghya to the moon through the sieve; the fast opens.
Best timings
Puja in the evening before moonrise; the vrat ends only at the moon.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
Atla Tadde in Andhra and Telangana is the vrat's regional sister — kept for the husband's life on Ashwayuja Bahula Tadiya, with the moon as witness.
Mehendi the night before is half the festival.
After the katha the women pass their thalis around the circle seven times — the pheri — exchanging karwas as a pledge of sisterhood.