Karva Chauth 2026: Date, Moonrise Rule and City Muhurat Timings

What Karva Chauth is

Karva Chauth is a day of fasting observed mainly in northern and western India. Married women traditionally keep it for the wellbeing and long life of their husbands. Many unmarried women and some husbands also fast, and for many families it is as much about togetherness as ritual.

The fast is usually kept from sunrise until the moon is seen. It is then broken, often after offering water to the moon and looking at the moon through a sieve or a lamp. Customs differ from family to family and region to region. Women commonly dress up, apply henna, and gather to listen to the Karva Chauth katha, and in many homes the mother-in-law's gift of sargi before dawn is a cherished part of the day.

How the date is fixed

Karva Chauth is tied to the lunar calendar, not the solar one, so its English date moves each year. It falls on chaturthi, the fourth lunar day, of the waning fortnight. In the lunar month Ashvin by the reckoning used here (some calendars name the same month Kartik, which is why you may see both).

The timing rule is moonrise. Because the fast ends when the moon is seen, the festival belongs to the day on which chaturthi is present at moonrise. Moonrise differs from city to city, so the evening timings differ too.

Date for 2026

Karva Chauth in 2026 falls on Thursday, 29 October 2026. All times below are in Indian Standard Time (IST).

Muhurat timings by city

These are the muhurat start times for 29 October 2026, with sunrise alongside, since the fast is traditionally begun at sunrise.

• Delhi: muhurat from 8:12 PM; sunrise 6:31 AM
• Mumbai: muhurat from 8:56 PM; sunrise 6:37 AM
• Kolkata: muhurat from 7:42 PM; sunrise 5:39 AM
• Chennai: muhurat from 8:40 PM; sunrise 6:02 AM
• Bengaluru: muhurat from 8:51 PM; sunrise 6:12 AM
• Guwahati: muhurat from 7:19 PM; sunrise 5:30 AM

The end time listed for every city above is 5:30 AM. Since that figure is the same everywhere, treat it as a general outer limit and not a precise local time. Do check the city page for the details before you plan the evening.

Why the times differ

Kolkata and Guwahati are further east, so the sun and moon rise earlier there. That is why their evening muhurat starts before 8 PM, while Mumbai and Bengaluru, further west and south, come later. If you live in another city or town, your timings will differ again by a few minutes or more.

Check your own city

The six cities above are only a sample. For the timings for your own location, open the Karva Chauth festival page and select your city. The page is also available in Hindi at करवा चौथ. If you like to see how the tithi and moonrise fit into the whole day, the daily panchang shows them together.

A note on observance

The fast is a personal choice, and families keep it in different ways. Anyone who is pregnant, unwell, elderly, or on regular medication should speak to a doctor about whether and how to fast, and no one should feel obliged to fast in a way that harms their health.

For other dates in the Hindu calendar, see our festivals calendar.