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

TL;DR 🕯️

• 🌊 Kurnool celebrates Chhath Puja on the banks of the Tungabhadra — one of Andhra Pradesh's most scenic arghya sites
• 🏛️ The revered Alampur Jogulamba Temple, an Asta Shakti Peetha, lends deep sanctity to the puja season in this historic city
• 🌅 Sandhya Arghya (Oct 30) and Usha Arghya (Oct 31) are the centrepieces — devotees gather from before dawn
• 🪔 Sri Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Temple and Koteswara Swamy Temple anchor complementary religious activity through the week
• 📍 Kurnool's first-capital heritage and its riverine geography make it one of South India's quietly significant Chhath destinations

Chhath Puja in Kurnool: Where Faith Meets the Tungabhadra

Kurnool has always occupied a singular place in Andhra Pradesh's story. The city that served as the state's first capital sits at the confluence of the Tungabhadra and Hindri rivers — a geography that makes it one of South India's most resonant destinations for Chhath Puja. While the festival's roots run deep in the Gangetic plains, Kurnool's established North Indian community and its river-defined character have made the celebration genuinely local over generations.

Chhath Puja 2026 runs across four days: Nahay Khay (Oct 28), Kharna (Oct 29), Sandhya Arghya (Oct 30), and Usha Arghya (Oct 31). Each stage builds in intensity, moving from ritual bathing and fasting toward the defining moments at the water's edge — the evening offering to the setting sun, and the pre-dawn offering to the rising one.

The Sacred Geography: Rivers and Ancient Temples

The Tungabhadra is Kurnool's lifeline for Chhath. Devotees arrive at the ghats in numbers that reflect the depth of North Indian settlement in this Andhra city — families who came for work generations ago and brought their rituals with them, intact.

The city's religious landscape adds powerful layers to this experience. Alampur Jogulamba Temple, one of the eighteen Asta Shakti Peethas, stands just outside Kurnool and draws pilgrims throughout the festival season. Its presence lends a rare sanctity to this stretch of the Tungabhadra that few pilgrim circuits can match. During Chhath week, it is not unusual for families to make a detour to Alampur after the morning arghya, completing a circuit of devotion that spans the ancient and the living.

Within the city itself, Sri Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Temple and Koteswara Swamy Temple hold significance for local families who connect the Chhath preparations with broader seasonal worship. The religious arc that begins with Navratri in October and runs through Chhath at month's end is treated here as a continuous, unbroken season of devotion.

The Four-Day Ritual: What to Expect

Nahay Khay (Oct 28): The vratins — those observing the fast — take a ritual bath in the Tungabhadra, cook a simple meal of chana dal and bottle gourd, and begin the fast. The day has a quiet austerity that sets the tone for what follows.

Kharna (Oct 29): The devotee fasts through the day without water, breaking only after moonrise with kheer made from new rice, jaggery, and milk. This is the longest and most demanding day. Families gather, prasad is shared with neighbours, and the household fills with the warmth of jaggery and ghee.

Sandhya Arghya (Oct 30): The evening offering is Chhath's public face. Devotees in new clothes — typically yellow or saffron — carry bamboo soop loaded with seasonal offerings: sugarcane stalks, thekua, coconuts, bananas, and water chestnuts. At the Tungabhadra ghats, they wade into the river as the sun touches the horizon. The arghya — water offered to Surya as the sun dips below the hills — is a moment of collective stillness.

Usha Arghya (Oct 31): The morning offering, made before sunrise, is the final and most spiritually potent ritual. By 4:30 AM, the ghats are already alive. The sky is dark, the water cool, and the devotees stand in the river with offerings held aloft, waiting for the first sliver of light on the Tungabhadra.

Insider Tip

Insider Tip: The best Chhath arghya position on the Tungabhadra is on the east bank, where the river runs wide and the horizon sits clear. Arrive by 4:15 AM for the Usha Arghya — space fills quickly and ritual photographers arrive earlier still. If visiting from outside the city, staying near the river bank the previous evening avoids the morning rush on the narrow approach roads.

The Thekua Tradition: Chhath's Defining Prasad

No Chhath celebration is complete without thekua — the deep-fried wheat sweet that is both offering and celebration food. In Kurnool's North Indian households, the thekua recipe often carries across generations unchanged from Bihar or UP. Whole wheat flour, jaggery, and fennel seeds, shaped by hand and fried in ghee or refined oil. After the arghya, it is distributed freely — to neighbours, to passersby at the ghat, to children learning the ritual from grandparents who learned it from theirs.

Puja Timing: October's Continuous Religious Calendar

Chhath arrives at the tail end of a dense October calendar. Navratri began Oct 11, Durga Ashtami fell Oct 19, Dussehra Oct 20. By the time Chhath begins, the community has been in near-continuous festival mode for three weeks. Purnima on Oct 26 — just two days before Chhath — adds another river gathering before the main event. The panchang calendar on the Desi.Net Kurnool page tracks the full festival sequence through the season.

FAQ

Is Chhath Puja celebrated in Kurnool? Yes. Kurnool has a substantial North Indian settler community that has celebrated Chhath on the Tungabhadra for generations. The festival is city-wide.

Where do people gather for arghya in Kurnool? The main gatherings are on the Tungabhadra's banks, particularly along the east bank near established ghats. The Hindri River confluence area also sees some celebrations.

What is the connection between Alampur Jogulamba Temple and Chhath? The temple is a Shakti Peetha visited throughout the puja season. Many Chhath devotees incorporate a visit to Alampur — about 21 km from the city — before or after the main arghya rituals.

What fruits are used in the Chhath offerings in Kurnool? Traditional offerings include sugarcane stalks, coconuts, bananas, water chestnuts, pomelos, and thekua. The specific selection follows family tradition.

Can visitors attend the ghat as observers? Yes, respectfully. Keep distance from the water during the arghya moments. Photography is generally welcomed but ask before photographing individual devotees.

Bottom Line

Kurnool's Chhath Puja is an encounter with a tradition that has been transplanted, taken root, and grown its own character on the Tungabhadra. The city that once governed an entire state brings the same earnestness to this festival that it has always brought to everything — full commitment, no shortcuts. The Tungabhadra at dawn on Oct 31, with the Alampur Jogulamba Temple in the pilgrim's consciousness and Sri Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Temple marking the week's devotion, is a Chhath worth experiencing.