Chhath Puja 2026: Nahay-Khay on 13 November, Sandhya Arghya on Sunday 15 November; sunset and sunrise times for Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur, and special trains home

Once Diwali is over, North Indian families in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur turn to Chhath. According to Drik Panchang's calendar for Mumbai, the four-day festival begins this year with Nahay-Khay on Friday, 13 November. The main day is Sunday, 15 November, when the arghya is offered to the setting sun that evening. The fast ends at dawn on Monday, 16 November, with the offering to the rising sun. Drik Panchang's calendars for Pune, Nagpur, Thane and Navi Mumbai give the same dates.

The four days of Chhath (2026)

• Day 1, Nahay-Khay: Friday, 13 November. Those keeping the vrat bathe and eat a single meal.
• Day 2, Kharna (Lohanda): Saturday, 14 November. A fast without even water from sunrise to sunset, broken after sunset with a food offering to the Sun.
• Day 3, Sandhya Arghya: Sunday, 15 November. The main day of Chhath: a waterless fast all day, and in the evening the arghya to the setting sun, offered standing in water.
• Day 4, Usha Arghya and Parana: Monday, 16 November. The arghya to the rising sun at dawn, after which the fast of about 36 hours is broken.
• Shashthi tithi: from 11.23 pm on 14 November to 2.00 am on 16 November (Mumbai).

Arghya times: sunset and sunrise in your city

The Sandhya Arghya is offered at sunset and the Usha Arghya at sunrise. Drik Panchang gives these times for each city:

• Mumbai: sunset at 6.00 pm on Sunday, 15 November; sunrise at 6.46 am on Monday, 16 November
• Thane: sunset 6.00 pm; sunrise 6.46 am
• Navi Mumbai: sunset 6.00 pm; sunrise 6.46 am
• Pune: sunset 5.57 pm; sunrise 6.42 am
• Nagpur: sunset 5.32 pm; sunrise 6.25 am

In Nagpur the sun sets nearly half an hour earlier than in Mumbai and rises about 20 minutes earlier, so plan your time at the ghat by your own city's clock.

Is it a holiday?

No. Chhath Puja is not among the 24 public holidays on the Maharashtra government's list for 2026. The only November holidays on that list are Lakshmi Pujan (8 November), Bali Pratipada (10 November) and Guru Nanak Jayanti (24 November). With the Sandhya Arghya falling on a Sunday this year, most working people will have the main day off anyway; Monday, the day of the Usha Arghya, is a normal working day.

Arrangements at the ghats: nothing announced yet

As of 23 October we had not found any announcement from the Brihanmumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai or Nagpur municipal corporations listing this year's Chhath sites or arrangements. We will update this story when they do. For an idea of what to expect, this is what was arranged last year (2025):

• Mumbai: after a meeting at BMC headquarters with about 55 Chhath committees, the civic body was to set up drinking water, lights, tables for the puja, toilets and changing rooms set aside for women at around 60 sites. Organisers applied for permission at their ward office, and the police were to keep all sites under CCTV watch.
• Mumbai's main sites: Juhu Chowpatty draws the largest crowd. Last year Powai Lake, Versova, Malad and Dadar Chowpatty also saw large gatherings, and Metro and BEST bus services were to run late into the night.
• Nagpur: Ambazari and Futala lakes are the main venues. The municipal corporation cleaned these two lakes as well as Police Line Takli and Gorewada, and put up wooden railings, lighting, drinking water, barricades, temporary platforms for the rituals, and changing rooms reserved for women. Devotees were asked to hand over nirmalya at the collection points rather than put it in the lakes.

Special trains for those going home

If you are keeping Chhath in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, you need to arrive before Nahay-Khay on 13 November. Central Railway has announced 580 special services in all for Puja, Diwali and Chhath. Among those useful for this window:

• LTT–Danapur (01143): daily at 10.30 am until 21 November, reaching Danapur at 9.50 pm the next day. The return, 01144, leaves Danapur daily at 12.10 am until 22 November.
• CSMT–Gorakhpur (01079): daily at 10.30 pm until 16 November. The return, 01080, runs from Gorakhpur until 18 November.
• Hadapsar–Gorakhpur (01415): daily at 7.05 am until 16 November. The return, 01416, runs from Gorakhpur until 17 November.
• LTT–Samastipur AC (01043): every Tuesday at 12.15 pm until 17 November, with stops including Danapur, Patliputra, Hajipur and Muzaffarpur.
• For Uttar Pradesh: LTT–Mau (01123, Fridays and Sundays), LTT–Banaras (01051, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 05168, Sundays) and Hadapsar–Ghazipur City (01431, Tuesdays and Fridays).
• Western Railway: an unreserved Bandra Terminus–Gorakhpur special (09083) leaves at 4.30 am on Sunday, 25 October. As of 23 October we found no press release on Western Railway's website listing specials for Chhath week itself.

For travellers from Pune, the crowd arrangements at Pune station and the Hadapsar–Muzaffarpur trains are covered in our story linked below, along with the full list of Diwali specials. Check your train's timing on the NTES app before you set out.

Going to the ghat: some general advice

The tips below are My Maharashtra's own general advice, not orders from any authority.

• On a beach, don't go beyond knee-deep water while offering arghya. Check the tide times beforehand and follow instructions from lifeguards and police.
• Reach the ghat at least an hour before sunset rather than pushing into the crowd at the last minute.
• Put a note with the child's name and a parent's phone number in children's pockets, and agree on a meeting point in case you get separated.
• Make sure someone stays with elderly devotees keeping the waterless fast. Anyone with diabetes, blood pressure or other conditions should ask a doctor about fasting.
• Keep diyas and lamps well away from clothing, especially the loose end of a saree.
• Don't throw puja material, plastic or nirmalya into the water; use the bins or spots set aside for them.
• Take a local train, Metro or bus instead of driving to the ghat, and plan your journey back after the dawn arghya in advance.
• Leave valuables at home. For emergency help, call 112.

Sources: Drik Panchang (Chhath calendar, Mumbai); Drik Panchang (Chhath calendar, Thane); Drik Panchang (Chhath calendar, Navi Mumbai); Drik Panchang (Chhath calendar, Pune); Drik Panchang (Chhath calendar, Nagpur); Drik Panchang (Chhath Puja, Shashthi tithi); Maharashtra government public holidays 2026 (MMRDA); Central Railway: 418 special trains (25 September 2026); Central Railway: 162 more special trains (30 September 2026); Khabar Digital (Western Railway unreserved specials, 14 October); Free Press Journal (Mumbai arrangements, 2025); Navbharat (Mumbai preparations, 2025); Navbharat (Juhu to Powai, 2025); The Live Nagpur (Nagpur arrangements, 2025)

Also read: Pune station's holding area for the Diwali–Chhath rush; Diwali special trains and extra ST buses