Chhath Puja Rules: What Vratis Should and Should Not Do

Chhath Puja is known for its strict discipline. The vrat is kept for four days, from Friday, 13 November to Monday, 16 November in 2026, with a 36-hour fast that includes no water. Families follow a set of rules about purity, food, clothing and conduct, and these rules are as much a part of the worship as the Arghya itself. This guide sets out the Chhath Puja rules day by day, explains the reason behind each, and adds safety notes for the fast and the ghat.

Chhath Puja rules: the basic principles

• Purity: the vratin and the household keep body, kitchen and utensils clean for all four days. Every item for the puja is washed and handled with care.
• Satvik food: from Nahay Khay onwards, the home eats only simple vegetarian food cooked without onion and garlic. Many families also avoid non-vegetarian food and alcohol in the whole house.
• Offerings first: no one tastes the prasad, thekua or fruits meant for the soop before they are offered to Surya.
• Simplicity: the vratin sleeps on the floor on a simple mat or blanket and keeps to prayer and quiet during the fast.
• Humility: Chhath is performed with gratitude to Surya and Chhathi Maiya, and caste or status has no place in the ghat.

Day-by-day rules

• Nahay Khay, 13 November: the vratin bathes, ideally in a river or pond, and takes the water home for cooking. A single meal of rice, chana dal and bottle gourd (kaddu or lauki) is cooked in a clean kitchen and eaten by the vratin first, then by the family.
• Kharna, 14 November: the vratin fasts all day without water. In the evening, rice kheer (rasiya) and roti are cooked on a clay stove with mango wood, offered to the Sun and Chhathi Maiya, and eaten by the vratin. The 36-hour waterless fast starts after this meal.
• Sandhya Arghya, 15 November: the vratin and family go to the ghat before sunset with the soop and dala. The vratin stands in water facing the setting Sun, and milk and water are offered as Arghya. Many families fill the kosi with sugarcane and lamps on this evening.
• Usha Arghya, 16 November: before dawn the family returns to the ghat. The vratin offers Arghya to the rising Sun and then breaks the fast with prasad and water.

Rules for cooking prasad

• Bathe before cooking or touching the ingredients.
• Use new or well-washed utensils kept only for prasad. Clay and brass are traditional.
• Wash the wheat for thekua and dry it in the sun, and keep it away from birds and animals.
• Do not taste or smell the food while cooking, and do not use salt, onion or garlic.
• Cook with mango wood or a clean gas stove as family custom allows, and keep the kitchen free of non-vegetarian food.

Rules at the ghat

• Go barefoot to the puja area and keep the soop clean and covered on the way.
• Do not put the soop or dala on the ground without a clean cloth beneath it.
• Offer the Arghya only when the Sun is visible at the set time, and stay calm and respectful in the crowd.
• Do not leave plastic, flowers or ashes in the water. Many cities request that waste is dropped in collection points.

Health and safety

A 36-hour fast without water is hard on the body. People who are diabetic, pregnant, elderly or on regular medicines should speak to a doctor before keeping the full vrat. Tradition values sincerity over strain, and many families adjust the vrat for health reasons after speaking with their elders or a priest. At the ghat, keep children close to an adult, avoid deep water and crowded steps, wear warm clothes for the cold morning, and place lamps with care. Anyone who feels dizzy or unwell should sit down and ask for help.

Why these rules matter

The rules turn the festival into a discipline of gratitude: clean surroundings, plain food, shared effort and a day spent facing the Sun with folded hands. For the story behind the festival, read Chhath Vrat Katha: the story of Chhathi Maiya and Surya. For dates and rituals, see the Chhath Puja 2026 guide and the Chhath Puja page.

Frequently asked questions