Karwa Chauth 2018: Date and timings In India and USA

After celebrations of Navratri, Dussehra and Durga Puja, Indians are now gearing up for another festival- Karwa Chauth. Karwa Chauth is one of the significant and famous Hindu festivals for married women. The festival lasts for one day and is celebrated every year with great pomp and fervor by the Hindu women in India as well as abroad. This year, the festival will be celebrated on 27th October. The festival is celebrated on Krishna Paksha Chaturthi which is the fourth day after the full moon. The same falls in the month of Kartik as per the Hindu lunisolar calendar.

On this day, married women observe a day-long fast without food and water for long life and safety of their husbands. The women cannot drink or eat until they see the moon in the evening. Many unmarried women also observe fast for their prospective grooms. The festival is widely celebrated in the northern states such as UP, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. The festival is also known as Karak Chaturthi (Karak means earthen pots and the same is used by fasting women) and is similar to Haritalika Teej and Chhath. Also, on this day, people do charity and give daan and dakshina to Brahmins. 

Celebrations, fasting and feast

On this day, fasting women wear beautiful ethnic clothes, apply mehendi and exchange clay pot (karwas) amongst them. Married women wake up early to eat sargi. For the unversed, sargi is a pre-dawn meal which is prepared by mothers-in-law. After eating the same, women observe fast until they see the moon in the evening. After breaking the fast, they enjoy a scrumptious feast with the families. The feast mostly consists of halwa-puri, kheer, mathri, chole and dahi bhalla among others.

Also, on this day, fasting women don't do house chores; instead, they prepare for the puja and older women narrate the karwa chauth katha (stories of legends) and songs are sung, and also, a ritual of feris (passing of thalis to each other) is done. Later in the evening, the women break their fast by viewing the moon through a sieve. After the ritual, women offer water to the deities and then, they break their fast by drinking water which their husbands give them.

Karva Chauth story

On this day, women offer prayers to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, and Lord Kartik to seek their blessings. While performing this puja, fasting women narrate the story of a queen Veervati. She was the only sister among seven brothers and was the most loved one. She got married at a very young age and went to her parents’ house for her first Karwa Chauth. She followed a strict fast but her brothers couldn’t bear to see her hungry and thirsty. So, they had created a mirror in a tree and made it look as if the moon had come up. Veervati thought it was the moon and broke her fast and soon she got a message that her husband died, which left her distraught.

Timings as per Indian location

Puja Muhurat: 05:36 pm to 06:53 pm 

Moonrise Time: 08:00 pm (20:00)

Chaturthi Tithi begins at 06:37 pm on 27/October/ 2018

Chaturthi Tithi ends at 04:54 pm on 28/ October/ 2018

Timings and Muhurat as per New York, USA location

Puja Muhurat: 17:54 to 19:15

Moonrise Time: 20:29

Chaturthi Tithi begins at 09:07 on 27/October/ 2018

Chaturthi Tithi ends at 07:24 on 28/October/ 2018

Timings and Muhurat as per California, USA location

Puja Muhurat: 17:58 to 19:17

Moonrise Time: 20:44

Chaturthi Tithi begins at 06:07 on 27/October/ 2018

Chaturthi Tithi ends at 04:24 on 28/October/ 2018