Karva Chauth

Karva Chauth
Women view the moon through sieves during Karwa Chauth
Also calledKaraka Chaturthi
Observed byMarried Hindu men and women, in some areas, unmarried Hindu women or teenage boys
TypeHinduism
CelebrationsPuja
ObservancesFasting by married women
DateAshvin Krishna Chaturthi
2024 date20 October (Sunday)
Related toDussehra and Diwali
Explanatory note
Hindu festival dates

The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day).

Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa.

A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar.

Karva Chauth or Karwa Chauth or Karaka Chaturthi (Sanskrit: करकचतुर्थी, romanized: Karakachaturthī) is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindu women of Nepal, Northern India and Western India in October or November on the Bikram Sambat month of Kartika. Like many Hindu festivals, Karva Chauth is based on a lunisolar variant of the Hindu Calendars. The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon.

On Karva Chauth women observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. The Karva Chauth fast is traditionally celebrated in Nepal and the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Fiji. It is celebrated as Atla Tadde in Andhra Pradesh.