🌙Karva Chauth

About Karva Chauth

Karva Chauth falls on the fourth day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Kartik, which places it in October most years. Married women across North India — Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the diaspora — keep a nirjala fast from before sunrise until the moon rises, without food or even water, praying for the long life of their husbands. The countdown above tracks the days until the next Karva Chauth.

The day begins before dawn with sargi, a pre-fast meal traditionally sent by the mother-in-law: fruit, dry fruits, sweets and often feni. Hands are painted with mehendi, women dress in red or their wedding finery, and in the afternoon they gather to hear the Karva Chauth katha and pass the decorated clay pots — the karvas the festival is named for — around the circle.

The fast is not broken by a clock but by the moon. When it finally appears, the woman looks at it through a sieve, then looks through the same sieve at her husband, who gives her the first sip of water and the first bite of food. Late-rising moons make for long evenings, which is why moonrise timings for the nearest city are among the most searched details of the day.