Chhath Puja 2026 in Dhaka: Events, Puja & Where to Celebrate

TL;DR 🪔

• 🌊 Chhath Puja 2026 in Dhaka falls on November 15 — the city's river ghats fill with worshippers offering arghya to the rising and setting sun
• 🏛️ Dhakeshwari National Temple anchors the city's most visible Chhath observances and welcomes devotees throughout the puja season
• 🎆 The festival season builds through Navratri 2026 and Dussehra before Chhath crowns the autumn calendar
• 🕯️ Sri Sri Raksha Kali Mata Temple in Shankhari Bazar has served Dhaka's oldest Hindu quarter for generations
• 🙏 Devotion over comfort — Chhath is the one festival where worshippers fast for 36 hours straight and stand in cold water at sunrise

Chhath Puja in Dhaka: What This Festival Means

Chhath Puja arrives in Dhaka on November 15, 2026, and the city treats it with a seriousness that few other festivals command. Where Diwali is about light and Durga Puja about community feasting, Chhath is about pure, unmediated devotion — no priests required, no elaborate rituals handed down by scholars. A devotee stands in the water, faces the sun, and offers whatever she has brought from home. That simplicity is its power.

In Dhaka, the Bihari Hindu community — descendants of migrants who came to East Bengal generations ago — have always been the main keepers of Chhath, and the puja long carried a community-specific identity. Over the past decade, that has changed. Chhath has become a broader city celebration, with Bengali Hindu families, Bengali-speaking worshippers from Bihar-background neighbourhoods, and young urban professionals all heading to the ghats together on the morning of Kartik Shashti.

The puja spans four days: Nahay Khay on the first day (a ritual bath and a single meal of chana dal and gourd), Kharna on the second (breaking a 24-hour fast with kheer and roti), Sandhya Arghya on the third evening (the most dramatic moment, offerings at the water's edge at sunset), and Usha Arghya at dawn on the fourth. Chhath Puja 2026 marks the Usha Arghya on November 15 — the moment everyone photographs, with the sun barely above the Buriganga horizon and hundreds of people standing knee-deep in folded saris and dhotis.

Dhakeshwari National Temple and the Temple Circuit

For anyone spending the puja season in Dhaka, Dhakeshwari National Temple is the natural starting point. Located on Dhakeshwari Road in Old Dhaka's Bakshi Bazar area, it is the city's most significant Hindu shrine and the institution that gives Dhaka its name — the goddess Dhakeshwari, 'she who dwells in Dhaka,' is enshrined here. The temple complex runs elaborate programmes through Navratri and Diwali, and in the days preceding Chhath it becomes a gathering point for devotees who come to pray before heading to the ghats.

In the dense lanes of Shankhari Bazar, Dhaka's historic Hindu street of conch-shell workers, Sri Sri Raksha Kali Mata Temple has anchored the neighbourhood's spiritual life for as long as residents can remember. During Chhath, the lanes around Shankhari Bazar take on a festival atmosphere distinct from the river-facing ghats — earthen lamps line the doorways, the smell of incense and marigold threads through the narrow streets, and the sound of conch shells marks each puja hour.

Across the city, Mirpur Central Temple serves the sizeable Hindu population of Mirpur, one of Dhaka's largest residential areas. Bashbari Sarbojonin Shri Shri Radha-Gobindo Mondir in the Bash Bari area holds sarbojonin (open-to-all) celebrations that draw families who may not have their own temple affiliation but want to observe the season together. For Sikhs in Dhaka, Gurudwara Sangat Tola Dhaka on Srishdas Lane remains an active centre of community worship through the autumn months.

The Full Festival Season: Navratri to Chhath

Chhath 2026 sits at the end of a compressed and unusually rich festival season. Navratri 2026 begins on October 11, bringing nine nights of the goddess into homes and community pandals. The celebration peaks with Durga Ashtami 2026 on October 19 — the eighth night when Durga's power is at its height — and concludes with Dussehra / Vijayadashami 2026 on October 20, the day Ram slew Ravana and the goddess returned to Kailash.

Between Dussehra and Diwali comes a fortnight of observances: Karva Chauth 2026 on October 29 (the sun-to-sun fast of married women), Purnima on October 26 (a full moon night for lamps and prayers by the river), and then the rapid three-day run from Dhanteras 2026 on November 6 through Diwali 2026 on November 8 to Bhai Dooj 2026 on November 11. Each has its own puja, its own food, its own colour.

By the time Chhath Puja 2026 arrives on November 15, the city has already passed through six major festival moments. Chhath feels like the season's final act — the most elemental one, stripped of decoration and conducted in open water under a sky the colour of raw turmeric.

Insider Tip

The Sandhya Arghya (sunset offering, day three of Chhath) draws larger crowds than the Usha Arghya at dawn, but the dawn session is the more atmospheric experience by far. Plan to arrive at the ghat well before sunrise — the light as it comes up over the Buriganga, with groups of women standing in the water holding copper vessels aloft, is the image people carry with them for years. Bring warm layers: November dawns in Dhaka are noticeably cool, and devotees standing in river water will feel it even if they don't show it.

FAQ

When exactly is Chhath Puja 2026 in Dhaka? The main Usha Arghya — the sunrise offering — falls on November 15, 2026. The puja sequence begins on November 12 with Nahay Khay and runs through the dawn of November 15.

Where do people observe Chhath in Dhaka? The ghats along the Buriganga are the main sites. The Dhakeshwari National Temple area and Shankhari Bazar also host temple-based observances. Check with the temple or local community groups for the gathering point nearest you.

Is Chhath Puja only for people from Bihar and UP? Historically yes — it originated as a harvest-season sun worship practice in the Gangetic plain and was brought to Dhaka by Bihari migrant communities. Today it is widely observed by Hindu families across different backgrounds in Dhaka.

What comes before Chhath in the festival calendar? Navratri 2026, Durga Ashtami 2026, Dussehra / Vijayadashami 2026, Karva Chauth 2026, Dhanteras 2026, Diwali 2026, and Bhai Dooj 2026 all precede Chhath. November is a genuinely full month.

Where can I find the full Dhaka festival and puja calendar? Desi.Net's Dhaka page keeps a running calendar of festival dates, puja events, and community announcements at desi.net/dhaka.

Bottom Line

Chhath Puja 2026 in Dhaka on November 15 is the culmination of an autumn season that starts with Navratri and builds through Diwali. The temples — Dhakeshwari National Temple, Sri Sri Raksha Kali Mata Temple in Shankhari Bazar, Mirpur Central Temple — each hold their own observances, but Chhath itself belongs to the river. Find a ghat, arrive before dawn, and watch the city's devotion at its most spare and sincere.