Chhath Puja 2025: Known as Mahaparva Chhath, this four-day festival holds immense cultural and spiritual importance, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Eastern India. Dedicated to Surya Dev (Sun God) and Chhathi Maiya, it begins right after Diwali and is considered one of the toughest fasts in Hindu tradition. Devotees believe that observing the 36-hour nirjala fast brings prosperity, good health, and long life for their children.
Let’s look at the complete Chhath Puja 2025 schedule, including Nahay-Khai, Kharna, Sandhya Arghya (Evening Prayer), and Usha Arghya (Morning Prayer).
Chhath Puja 2025 Calendar & Dates
Nahay-Khai: Saturday, 25th October 2025
Kharna: Sunday, 26th October 2025
Sandhya Arghya (Evening Arghya): Monday, 27th October 2025
Usha Arghya (Morning Arghya): Tuesday, 28th October 2025
Day 1 – Nahay-Khai (25 October 2025, Saturday)
The festival begins with Nahay-Khai. Devotees take a holy bath in rivers or ponds and consume sattvik food (no onion, no garlic, no meat), usually cooked in earthen or bronze vessels. This simple meal, often including lauki-bhaat (bottle gourd with rice), strengthens the devotee for the upcoming fast.
Day 2 – Kharna (26 October 2025, Sunday)
The second day is Kharna. On this day, fasting devotees observe a strict fast throughout the day and break it only in the evening after offering jaggery kheer (gur ki kheer), chapati, and fruits to Chhathi Maiya. After consuming the prasad, it is distributed among family, friends, and neighbors. Post this ritual, a 36-hour nirjala (without water) fast begins, continuing until the final sunrise prayer.
Day 3 – Sandhya Arghya / Surya Shashthi (27 October 2025, Monday)
The third day is the main celebration of Chhath Puja, also known as Surya Shashthi. In the evening, devotees, dressed in traditional attire, gather at the ghats of rivers, lakes, or ponds to offer Sandhya Arghya (evening offerings) to the setting sun. With songs, folk rituals, and offerings in bamboo baskets filled with thekua, fruits, sugarcane, and coconuts, the rituals reflect deep devotion.
Day 4 – Usha Arghya (28 October 2025, Tuesday)
The final day marks the Usha Arghya (morning arghya) when devotees offer water and prayers to the rising sun at dawn. Women, often walking barefoot to the ghats, pray for their family’s prosperity, well-being, and longevity of their children. After offering prayers, the 36-hour fast is broken, and devotees consume prasad. This day concludes the Chhath Mahaparva with joy and gratitude.
Significance of Chhath Puja
Worshipping Surya Dev ensures energy, vitality, and abundance.
Devotion to Chhathi Maiya blesses children with health and prosperity.
The rituals highlight purity, discipline, and harmony with nature.
Walking barefoot, fasting, and offering arghya symbolize self-control and gratitude.
