Chhath Puja Samagri List: Items for Kharna and Arghya

Chhath Puja 2026 runs from Friday, 13 November to Monday, 16 November, and families begin buying the items days earlier. This Chhath Puja samagri list covers everything for the four days: the bamboo soop and dala, the fruits and offerings for Arghya, the ingredients for Kharna prasad, and the basics for the thekua. It also notes what to buy first, since some items sell out near the ghats.

The four days and what each needs

• 13 November, Nahay Khay: a clean kitchen, new or well-washed utensils, rice, chana dal and bottle gourd (lauki).
• 14 November, Kharna: rice, jaggery, milk and ghee for kheer, wheat flour for roti, bananas.
• 15 November, Sandhya Arghya: the full soop and dala with fruits, thekua and diyas, for the evening offering at the river or pond.
• 16 November, Usha Arghya: a fresh set of offerings for the sunrise Arghya and the end of the fast.

For the full ritual order, read the Chhath Puja 2026 date and rituals guide.

Chhath Puja samagri list: containers and basics

• Soop and dala: bamboo winnowing trays and baskets for the offerings. Buy two or three sets, since the soop is needed for both Sandhya and Usha Arghya.
• Kalash or brass vessel and a clean glass for water and milk Arghya.
• Diyas, cotton wicks, ghee, incense and matchsticks.
• Roli or kumkum, sindoor, akshat (unbroken rice), turmeric and a red cloth.
• Clay stove and mango wood for Kharna prasad, if your family cooks it the traditional way.
• Clean clothes for the vratin, usually a new or well-washed sari or unstitched cloth, as family custom directs.

Fruits and offerings for Arghya

• Bananas: a whole bunch with leaves where possible.
• Sugarcane: whole stalks, often with leaves, and sometimes five or seven stalks for the kosi.
• Coconut with its fibre, and whole turmeric and ginger plants with their leaves.
• Seasonal fruits: apple, orange, pomelo or large citrus (dab nimbu), pineapple, pomegranate and water chestnut (singhara).
• Roots: sweet potato and suthani, a local root offered in Bihar and Jharkhand.
• Dry fruits and sweets: almonds, raisins, rice laddus (kasar) and, above all, thekua.

Kharna prasad ingredients

Kharna prasad is the first food the vratin eats after a full day of fasting, and it begins the 36-hour waterless fast. It is cooked fresh in the evening with no salt, onion or garlic.

• Rice, jaggery, whole milk and ghee for rasiya (rice kheer)
• Wheat flour and ghee for roti or puri
• Bananas and other fruits for the plate

Thekua ingredients

Thekua is the Chhath sweet, a crisp, deep-fried cookie of wheat flour and jaggery. Gather wheat flour, jaggery (gur), ghee, grated or dry coconut, fennel seeds (saunf) and cardamom, plus a wooden thekua mould if you have one, and oil or ghee for frying. Wash and dry the wheat in the sun, grind it at home or at a clean mill, and use only clean utensils, as the tradition requires for all prasad.

What to buy first

1. Soop, dala and sugarcane: demand rises sharply two or three days before.
2. Whole turmeric and ginger plants and sweet potato, which are seasonal and sell out.
3. Fruits: buy a day before Arghya to keep them fresh.
4. Milk and fresh bananas: buy on the morning itself.

A note on the offering

Chhath honours Surya and Chhathi Maiya, and the offering is made with gratitude for light and life, not for display. If you cannot get every item, offer what you can with devotion. Learn the story of the festival in Chhath Vrat Katha: the story of Chhathi Maiya and Surya, and see the Chhath Puja page for dates through 2027.

Frequently asked questions