Chhath Puja in Guruvayur

Date and timing in this city

In Guruvayur (गुरुवायूर), India, Chhath Puja falls on Sunday 15 November 2026. The following year it falls on Thursday 4 November 2027. Both dates are computed for Guruvayur's own sunrise, in the Asia/Kolkata time zone.

The observance is tied to Kartik Shukla Shashthi — the sixth tithi of the bright fortnight of Kartik. Because the tithi is fixed to the Moon's movement while the sunrise is fixed to the Sun's, the civil date on which Shashthi is observed depends on where you stand. That is why the Guruvayur date is worked out locally rather than borrowed from another region.

The deity honoured is Surya, with Chhathi Maiya. The wider observance is sun worship at rivers.

Why the date can differ from India

Many published Chhath Puja dates are calculated for a single reference point, and that reference is usually in the north of the country. Guruvayur lies far to the south and west of that belt, so its sunrise arrives at a different moment. When Shashthi begins or ends close to a sunrise, that difference can shift the day on which the vrat is kept.

This is a normal feature of tithi-based festivals, not a discrepancy. Readers comparing a national calendar with the dates above should treat the Guruvayur dates as the ones computed for this city.

There is also a wider question of reckoning. Regions differ on whether the Kartik month is counted from the new moon (amanta) or the full moon (purnimanta), and Smarta and Vaishnava households may follow slightly different conventions for the same festival. Traditions differ here, and the brief does not settle the point in favour of one. For a personal chart or a family custom, consult a qualified jyotishi.

Where and how the community celebrates

Chhath Puja is most closely associated with Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Families from those regions who now live in and around Guruvayur typically keep the vrat in their own way, and the essentials travel with them: a clean stretch of water, an offering to the setting Sun and then to the rising Sun, and the presence of family across the two evenings and the morning between.

Because the observance is sun worship at rivers, the setting matters more than any particular building. Households often gather at whatever water they can reach — a river, a tank, or a prepared spot at home where the Sun can be offered arghya. The forms vary by family and by region of origin.

Practical tips

• Note the Guruvayur dates separately: 15 November 2026 and 4 November 2027.
• Plan around sunrise in the Asia/Kolkata time zone, since the tithi is read against local sunrise.
• If your family follows a particular regional or sampradaya reckoning, follow that; the dates above are the city computation, not a ruling on custom.
• For anything tied to your own chart, speak with a qualified jyotishi.