Karva Chauth: Traditions You Must Know Before the Fast
Annanya Gupta | Oct 10, 2025, 12:52 IST
Karva Chauth Traditions
Highlight of the story: Karva Chauth 2025 celebrates love and devotion between married couples. From the early morning Sargi to the moonrise ritual, Women observe Nirjala Vrat and celebrate togetherness with rituals that honor love and prayer. Women also dress in traditional attire, apply mehendi, and perform puja before breaking their fast. The festival blends faith and beauty, keeping love alive through time.
Karva Chauth isn't just about skipping meals. It's a day when millions of Indian women choose hunger over comfort.
Women from alot of places in India wake up at 4 AM. They eat one meal before sunrise. Then nothing passes their lips until they spot the moon. No water. No tea. Nothing.
Why do they do it? Ask any woman and she'll tell you it's for her husband's long life. It sounds simple but the feeling behind it runs deep.
Picture this. It's 4:30 AM in a Punjabi household in Amritsar. Your mother-in-law has been up since 4 preparing your Sargi thali.
She fills it with everything you need. Sweet mathri or gujiya. Fresh fruits. A tall glass of milk mixed with sugar and elaichi.
This isn't just breakfast. When she hands you that plate, she's passing on a blessing. Her mother did this for her. Now she does it for you.
You sit on the bed and eat slowly. Your husband is still sleeping. The whole house is quiet. Just you and that plate of food.
From sunrise to moonrise, your lips stay sealed. No breakfast. No lunch. No evening chai. Not even water.
In cities like Lucknow where summer hangs on till October, the heat makes it harder. Women still go to work.But she doesn't break it. None of them do.
The fast isn't about suffering. It's about strength.
A 2019 study from AIIMS Delhi found that intermittent fasting can improve heart health. But these women aren't thinking about research papers. They're thinking about their husbands coming home safe every night.
Tuesday evening before Karva Chauth looks the same in every colony. Women sitting in circles getting mehendi applied on their palms.
In Rajasthan, the designs are intricate. Full hands covered in paisleys and peacocks. In Bengal, it's simpler but just as beautiful. The darker your mehendi, the more your husband loves you. That's what mothers tell their daughters.
On Karva Chauth morning, you dress like it's your wedding day again. Heavy red saree. The one with gold zari work. Or a bright pink lehenga if you're newly married.
Sindoor in your maang. Bindi perfectly placed. Glass bangles stacked up both arms. Nath in your nose if you're from UP or Bihar. Gold mangalsutra sitting against your blouse. It's old but it carries memories.
You're not dressing up for photos. You're honoring the day.
By 6 PM, the hunger has settled into a dull ache. You're light-headed. Your mouth is dry. But now comes the community part.
Women gather at someone's house or the colony park. Each person brings their karva (a small clay pot filled with water and a diya inside).
Someone usually an older aunty starts reading the Karva Chauth Katha. The story of Queen Veeravati whose devotion brought her dead husband back to life. Or the tale of Karva who saved her husband from Yama, the god of death.
These aren't just stories. They remind you why you're sitting there hungry and tired.
Then the aarti starts. You pass your karva to the woman next to you. Round and round the circle it goes. Seven times. The smell of incense fills the air. Everyone sings the aarti together.
In that moment, you're not alone. Your mother is there. Your sister. Your neighbor from three houses down. All of you fasting. All of you waiting.
This is what you've been waiting for since 4 AM. Someone shouts "Chand dikh gaya!" (The moon is visible). Everyone rushes to their terraces or balconies. In Mumbai's high-rises, women crowd the building terrace. In Delhi's old colonies, they gather in the courtyard.
You hold a chalni (sieve) in your hand. Look at the moon through its holes. Then turn and look at your husband the same way. He's standing there with a steel glass of water and a plate with something sweet. Barfi. Ladoo, Whatever you like.
He lifts the glass to your lips and then You take the first sip. The water feels like life returning to your body. Then he feeds you the sweet. The fast breaks.
Young women on Twitter call Karva Chauth regressive. Feminist pages say it's one-sided. Why should only wives fast for husbands?
Fair question?But talk to women in Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Patna. Most will tell you nobody forced them. They choose to do it.
It's one day in the year when she slows down. Thinks about what her marriage means. Shows her husband through action, not just words.
Does it need to be gender equal? Maybe. Some couples now fast together. That's changing slowly.
But for millions of women, this ritual isn't oppression. It's their choice. Their way of loving.
By the time you break your fast, you're exhausted. Your head hurts. Your legs feel weak.
But when your husband feeds you that first bite with his own hands, something shifts inside. The hunger was temporary. What you felt today stays.
Karva Chauth isn't perfect. But it's real. It's been happening for hundreds of years. And in 2025, it still matters to the women who keep it.
Explore the latest trends and tips in Health & Fitness, Spiritual, Travel, Life Hacks, Trending, Fashion & Beauty, and Relationships at Times Life
Women from alot of places in India wake up at 4 AM. They eat one meal before sunrise. Then nothing passes their lips until they spot the moon. No water. No tea. Nothing.
Why do they do it? Ask any woman and she'll tell you it's for her husband's long life. It sounds simple but the feeling behind it runs deep.
1. What is the Meaning of Sargi in Karva Chauth?
This isn't just breakfast. When she hands you that plate, she's passing on a blessing. Her mother did this for her. Now she does it for you.
You sit on the bed and eat slowly. Your husband is still sleeping. The whole house is quiet. Just you and that plate of food.
2. The Nirjala Fast: Not Even One Drop of Water
In cities like Lucknow where summer hangs on till October, the heat makes it harder. Women still go to work.But she doesn't break it. None of them do.
The fast isn't about suffering. It's about strength.
A 2019 study from AIIMS Delhi found that intermittent fasting can improve heart health. But these women aren't thinking about research papers. They're thinking about their husbands coming home safe every night.
3. Mehendi, Solah Shringar and That Red Saree
Mehendi designs for karva chauth
( Image credit : Pixabay )
Tuesday evening before Karva Chauth looks the same in every colony. Women sitting in circles getting mehendi applied on their palms.
In Rajasthan, the designs are intricate. Full hands covered in paisleys and peacocks. In Bengal, it's simpler but just as beautiful. The darker your mehendi, the more your husband loves you. That's what mothers tell their daughters.
On Karva Chauth morning, you dress like it's your wedding day again. Heavy red saree. The one with gold zari work. Or a bright pink lehenga if you're newly married.
Sindoor in your maang. Bindi perfectly placed. Glass bangles stacked up both arms. Nath in your nose if you're from UP or Bihar. Gold mangalsutra sitting against your blouse. It's old but it carries memories.
You're not dressing up for photos. You're honoring the day.
4. Evening Aarti and Listening to the Vrat Katha
Women gather at someone's house or the colony park. Each person brings their karva (a small clay pot filled with water and a diya inside).
Someone usually an older aunty starts reading the Karva Chauth Katha. The story of Queen Veeravati whose devotion brought her dead husband back to life. Or the tale of Karva who saved her husband from Yama, the god of death.
These aren't just stories. They remind you why you're sitting there hungry and tired.
Then the aarti starts. You pass your karva to the woman next to you. Round and round the circle it goes. Seven times. The smell of incense fills the air. Everyone sings the aarti together.
In that moment, you're not alone. Your mother is there. Your sister. Your neighbor from three houses down. All of you fasting. All of you waiting.
5. Chand Nikla: The Moon Finally Appears
Solah Shringar for karwa chauth
( Image credit : Pixabay )
This is what you've been waiting for since 4 AM. Someone shouts "Chand dikh gaya!" (The moon is visible). Everyone rushes to their terraces or balconies. In Mumbai's high-rises, women crowd the building terrace. In Delhi's old colonies, they gather in the courtyard.
You hold a chalni (sieve) in your hand. Look at the moon through its holes. Then turn and look at your husband the same way. He's standing there with a steel glass of water and a plate with something sweet. Barfi. Ladoo, Whatever you like.
He lifts the glass to your lips and then You take the first sip. The water feels like life returning to your body. Then he feeds you the sweet. The fast breaks.
6. Why This Still Matters in 2025
Fair question?But talk to women in Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Patna. Most will tell you nobody forced them. They choose to do it.
It's one day in the year when she slows down. Thinks about what her marriage means. Shows her husband through action, not just words.
Does it need to be gender equal? Maybe. Some couples now fast together. That's changing slowly.
But for millions of women, this ritual isn't oppression. It's their choice. Their way of loving.
What Stays With You
But when your husband feeds you that first bite with his own hands, something shifts inside. The hunger was temporary. What you felt today stays.
Karva Chauth isn't perfect. But it's real. It's been happening for hundreds of years. And in 2025, it still matters to the women who keep it.
Explore the latest trends and tips in Health & Fitness, Spiritual, Travel, Life Hacks, Trending, Fashion & Beauty, and Relationships at Times Life