Hindu festival
Karva Chauth
In short
Karva Chauth is a day-long fast kept on the fourth tithi of the waning moon in Kartik, chiefly by married women for the well-being and long life of their husbands. The fast, taken without food or water, is broken only after sighting and offering to the moon at night.
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When is Karva Chauth?
- This year’s date
- Set by the panchang each year from the rule below. Godify shows a specific date only once it is confirmed against an authoritative panchang — never guessed.
- Tithi / rule
- Krishna Chaturthi (4th tithi of the waning moon) of Kartik, with the fast broken after sighting the moon
- Calendar
- Lunar calendar (tithi-based)
- Deity
- Shiva & Parvati
The story
Karva Chauth is a festival of devotion within marriage, observed mainly in northern India. Women keep a nirjala (waterless) fast from dawn, praying for the long life and welfare of their husbands; in many families the sentiment is now mutual.
Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha are worshipped through the day, and the fast is broken at night only after the moon is sighted and offered arghya through a sieve — a quiet, intimate close to a day of devotion.
How it’s celebrated
Women keep a waterless fast from dawn, gather to hear the Karva Chauth story, worship Shiva-Parvati and Ganesha, and break the fast at night after sighting the moon and offering arghya.
A mantra to mark the day
ॐ नमः शिवाय
oṃ namaḥ śivāya
I bow to Shiva, the auspicious inner Self who transforms and frees.
More Hindu festivals
About Karva Chauth
When is Karva Chauth?
On the Krishna Chaturthi (4th tithi of the waning moon) of Kartik. The exact Gregorian date is set by the panchang each year.
How is the Karva Chauth fast broken?
At night, only after sighting the moon and offering it arghya, traditionally viewed through a sieve.
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