Karva Chauth Preparation Checklist
Karva Chauth, also spelled Karwa Chauth, is the day many married Hindu women, mostly in North India and in families from there, fast for their husband’s long life, from sunrise until the moon comes up. It falls in October or November, on the fourth lunar day after the full moon (Kartik Krishna Chaturthi in North Indian calendars), about ten days before Diwali, so the date moves every year.
Moonrise is the time that matters, and it differs from city to city. Look it up for your own city instead of trusting a time forwarded in a family group.
Customs vary between regions and between families, so ask your mother-in-law or an elder how your family keeps the day, and treat this list as a starting point. If you are pregnant, diabetic or take daily medicine, talk to your doctor before a fast without water. Some women keep the fast with water or fruit instead.
- Confirm this year's date — Check with your family, your temple or a calendar you trust.
- Look up the moonrise time for your own city
- Talk to your doctor first if you are pregnant, diabetic or on medication
- Decide with your family how strict the fast will be — Some women keep it nirjala, with no food or water, and some allow water or fruit.
- Plan the sargi, the meal eaten before dawn — In many families, Punjabi ones especially, the mother-in-law prepares or sends it.
- Buy the sargi food — Fruit, dry fruit, mathri and feni are common; add something filling, such as paneer or curd.
- Book or plan mehendi for the day before
- Choose your outfit and jewellery — Many women wear red or their wedding clothes, with bangles, bindi and sindoor.
- Gather the puja thali
- A karva filled with water — Many families use an earthen pot with a spout; others use a metal one.
- A diya, ghee or oil, and a wick
- Roli or kumkum, rice grains and sweets
- A sieve for looking at the moon
- A glass or lota of water to offer to the moon
- Find out where and when the evening puja will be — In many Punjabi families the women sit in a circle, pass their thalis round and listen to the Karva Chauth katha.
- Have the evening meal cooked the day before, or ask someone else to cook it
- Agree in advance what you will do if cloud hides the moon — Ask the elders the day before, so nobody has to decide late at night.
- Eat the sargi before sunrise — Drink plenty of water with it if your fast will be without water.
- Keep the day light and rest in the afternoon
- Light the diya and have the thali ready before moonrise
- Look at the moon through the sieve, then at your husband — Not every family uses a sieve. Many wives also offer water to the moon, and the husband gives her the first sip of water and a bite of sweet.
- Break the fast with water and something light before the full meal — A big, rich meal straight after a day without water can upset your stomach.
- Give or exchange gifts if your family does