Chhath Puja in Ayodhya

Chhath Puja in Ayodhya

Date and timing in this city

Chhath Puja falls on Kartik Shukla Shashthi — the sixth tithi of the bright fortnight of Kartik. In Ayodhya (अयोध्या), which follows the Asia/Kolkata time zone, the date computed for the city's own sunrise is Sunday 15 November 2026. The following year it falls on Thursday 4 November 2027.

These are the dates as reckoned for Ayodhya's local sunrise. The vrat spans several days, with the Shashthi tithi at its centre, and the sandhya arghya offered to the setting sun and the usha arghya to the rising sun. Because the tithi is tied to the Sun's movement and to local sunrise, the day observed in one place can differ from another.

Why the date can differ from India

A panchang is not a single national calendar. The tithi is a running astronomical quantity, and the moment it begins or ends is judged against the sunrise of a particular place. Ayodhya's sunrise is its own; so is the sunrise of any other city. Where the tithi boundary falls close to sunrise, two cities can observe Shashthi on different civil dates even though both are in India and both use Asia/Kolkata time.

This is why a reader in Ayodhya should follow the Ayodhya date rather than a date printed for the country as a whole. Families living elsewhere may keep the date of their own city or of their family's tradition. Where traditions differ — and they do, across regions and sampradayas — the local panchang of the place of observance is the usual guide.

Where and how the community celebrates

Chhath is sun worship at rivers, offered to Surya and to Chhathi Maiya. It is observed widely in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, and Ayodhya lies within that broad belt of practice.

Vratis keep the fast, prepare the offerings, and stand in or beside the water to give arghya as the sun sets and again as it rises. The observance is a family and neighbourhood affair, carried out at the water's edge rather than at any single organised venue. Customs around the number of days, the offerings and the songs vary from household to household and from one region to another, and those variations are respected as they are.

Practical tips

• Check the Ayodhya date for the year you are observing; do not assume it matches a date printed for another city.
• Plan around both the evening and the morning arghya, since the vrat covers both.
• Confirm local sunrise and sunset times for Ayodhya through the year's panchang before you fix your schedule.
• If you are observing away from home, decide in advance whether you will follow Ayodhya's date or your own city's.
• For anything concerning your personal chart or vrat, consult a qualified jyotishi.