Karva Chauth
Karva Chauth or Karwa Chauth or Karaka Chaturthi (Sanskrit: करकचतुर्थी, romanized: Karakacaturthī) is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindu women of Northern and Western India in October or November on the Hindu lunar 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.
| Karva Chauth | |
|---|---|
Women view the moon through sieves during Karwa Chauth | |
| Also called | Karaka Chaturthi |
| Observed by | Married Hindu men and women, in some areas, unmarried Hindu women or teenage boys |
| Type | Hinduism |
| Celebrations | Puja |
| Observances | Fasting by married women |
| Date | Ashvin Krishna Chaturthi |
| 2023 date | 1 November (Wednesday) |
| Related to | Dussehra and Diwali |
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. | |
On Karva Chauth women observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands or future partners. The Karva Chauth fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh. It is celebrated as Atla Tadde in Andhra Pradesh.