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

TL;DR

• 🌅 Chhath Puja 2026 runs across four days: 13–16 November, with the main arghya ceremonies on 15–16 November
• The festival worships Surya Dev, the Sun God, through fasting, ritual bathing, and offerings at water bodies
• Udaipur's lakes — Fateh Sagar and Pichola — become natural ghats for the evening and dawn arghya
• Bihari and eastern UP communities in Rajasthan bring Chhath to the city's lakeside each November
• 🙏 Thekua, the iconic wheat-and-jaggery sweet, is hand-made at home and offered as prasad during the festival

Chhath Puja is one of the most visually striking and spiritually demanding festivals in the calendar. It asks its devotees — called vratis — to stand waist-deep in a water body at sunset and at dawn, offering arghya to the Sun God across a four-day arc of fasting, ritual bathing, and communal celebration. Rooted in Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh, the festival has traveled wherever those communities have gone: to Rajasthan's cities, to Delhi's riverbanks, to Mumbai's sea-facing ghats, and far beyond India.

In Udaipur, which has resident migrant communities from Bihar and eastern UP, Chhath Puja is observed each November at the lake ghats that ring this desert city — making it one of the more atmospheric places in Rajasthan to witness the celebration.

The 2026 Dates: Four Days, One Festival

Chhath Puja 2026 unfolds over four consecutive days in November:

The Sandhya Arghya on Sunday evening and the Usha Arghya at Monday dawn are the festival's most public and moving moments — when vratis stand in water and lift bamboo soop trays filled with offerings as the sky shifts color.

The Four-Day Ritual in Detail

Day 1 — Nahay Khay (Ritual Bathing)

The vrati bathes, ideally in a river or lake, and cleans the home thoroughly. Only one meal is consumed — a sattvik preparation of lauki (bottle gourd), rice, and chana dal cooked without onion or garlic. This day establishes the physical and spiritual cleanliness that runs through the entire festival.

Day 2 — Kharna (The Long Fast)

A day-long fast that breaks only after sunset, when the vrati prepares and distributes kheer made with rice and jaggery, served with roti and fruit. From that moment, a strict 36-hour waterless fast begins — no food, no water — until paran on Day 4.

Day 3 — Sandhya Arghya (Evening Offering)

The third day is the festival's emotional peak. Families walk together to the ghat, carrying bamboo baskets called soop filled with seasonal fruits, sugarcane stalks, thekua, coconut, and small clay lamps. Standing waist-deep in the water as the sun descends, the vrati offers arghya while devotional songs — Chhath geet — rise from the assembled community. In Udaipur, the ghats of Fateh Sagar Lake and the banks near Pichola Lake become gathering points at this hour, with the Aravalli hills visible against the evening sky behind the water.

Day 4 — Usha Arghya and Paran (Dawn Offering)

Before sunrise, families return to the ghat in early darkness. As the first light touches the water, the rising Sun receives arghya — and then the fast breaks. The atmosphere on this final morning is one of collective joy and relief, the silence of the pre-dawn giving way to prayers, birdsong, and the sound of families eating together.

The Prasad: What Devotees Offer

The most iconic Chhath offering is Thekua — a deep-fried biscuit made from whole wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee, pressed into shapes by hand or wooden mold and fried until crisp. It is prepared at home in the days before the festival, and distributing thekua is part of the communal spirit of Chhath. The soop also holds sugarcane in full green stalks, seasonal fruits like banana, coconut, and apple, and small clay diyas.

The prasad is not bought in stores — it is made in the kitchen, which is part of its meaning. The labor of preparation is itself an act of devotion.

Where to Observe Chhath Puja in Udaipur

Udaipur's lakes make a natural setting for the arghya ceremonies. The banks of Fateh Sagar Lake and the ghats near Pichola Lake typically become gathering points for the city's vrati community at sunset on 15 November and dawn on 16 November 2026.

Local Chhath samitis — community associations that organize the festival logistics — often handle ghat preparation, cleaning, and decoration in the days before the event. They set up the bamboo poles and banana plant arrangements that mark the ceremonial space and coordinate the evening program. Check with local Bihari community associations in Udaipur in the week before the festival for confirmed ghat locations and timing.

For visitors, the Sandhya Arghya at Fateh Sagar on the evening of Sunday 15 November is a particularly memorable sight: the lake reflecting the orange sky, lamps on the water, the sound of Chhath geet, and hundreds of vratis in the shallows.

Significance: Why the Setting Sun?

Chhath is unusual among Hindu festivals in that it specifically worships the setting sun — not just the rising one. Devotees interpret this as an expression of gratitude: giving thanks for the day that has passed and acknowledging the cycle of life. Every sunset is a completion; every sunrise is a new beginning. The vrati stands between the two, offering water to both.

The festival is also one of the oldest continuous solar worship traditions in the subcontinent, with roots some trace to the Vedic period and connections to the Mahabharata.

Insider Tip

The Usha Arghya on Monday, 16 November 2026 begins before dawn. Families head to the ghat while it is still dark to be in position when the sun rises. Udaipur's sunrise in mid-November falls around 6:40–6:45 AM local time. If you want to witness this moment, arrive at the ghat no later than an hour before sunrise. Dress warmly — November mornings near the lake are cool — and wear footwear you do not mind getting wet, as the ghat area close to the water tends to be slippery in the early darkness.

FAQ

When is Chhath Puja in 2026? Chhath Puja 2026 runs from Friday 13 November to Monday 16 November. The Sandhya Arghya (evening offering to the setting Sun) is on Sunday 15 November, and the Usha Arghya (dawn offering to the rising Sun) is on Monday 16 November.

Where do people celebrate Chhath Puja in Udaipur? The ghats of Fateh Sagar Lake and the banks near Pichola Lake are the primary gathering points for the arghya ceremonies in Udaipur. Local Chhath samitis confirm the exact locations each year.

What is thekua and how is it used in Chhath Puja? Thekua is a deep-fried sweet biscuit made from whole wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee that is hand-prepared at home before the festival. It is placed in the bamboo soop offered to the Sun God and then distributed as prasad after the paran on Day 4.

Can visitors attend the Chhath Puja ghat ceremonies? Yes. The ghat ceremonies are community events held in public spaces. Visitors are welcome to observe respectfully, but should keep a courteous distance from vratis during the actual arghya and avoid disrupting the line of sight to the sun or water.

Is Chhath Puja a public holiday in Rajasthan? Chhath Puja is a recognized public holiday in Bihar, Jharkhand, and some other states. In Rajasthan, it is observed by migrant communities from Bihar and eastern UP but is not a state-wide public holiday.

Bottom Line

Chhath Puja 2026 in Udaipur spans 13–16 November, with the most resonant moments at the city's lake ghats on the evening of the 15th and the dawn of the 16th. Udaipur's natural setting — the combination of water, hills, and open sky — gives the arghya ceremonies a visual power that few festival settings can match. Whether you are a vrati observing the fast or a visitor wanting to witness one of India's most ancient solar worship traditions, the lakeside ghats of Udaipur are a remarkable place to be during Chhath. Visit our Udaipur page for more on the city's festivals and events throughout the year.