The sunrise-to-moonrise fast kept by married women for their husbands' long life — sargi, the katha, and the moonrise sighting. Exact Karva Chauth dates and Ottawa moonrise time, computed for your timezone.
When: Kartik Krishna Chaturthi (October–November), four days after Sharad Purnima; exact Ottawa dates below
The fast: Nirjala — without food or water — from sunrise until the moon is sighted and worshipped
Key moments: Sargi before dawn, the katha in the afternoon, arghya to the moon at local moonrise
Worship: Gauri (Parvati), Ganesha and Chauth Mata, with the karva (earthen pot) that names the vrat
Who keeps it: Traditionally married women; many unmarried women keep it for a wished-for match, and many husbands now fast alongside
What Karva Chauth Is
Karva Chauth is the best known of the North Indian suhag vrats: a wife's day-long nirjala fast for her husband's long life and the couple's shared happiness, ended only when the moon rises and is offered arghya through a sieve. The vrat's name joins karva — the small earthen pot used in the ritual — with chauth, the fourth tithi. Its centrepiece is the katha of Veervati: the queen whose seven brothers, unable to watch her suffer the fast, tricked her with a false moon — her husband fell lifeless the moment she ate, and only a year of penance and the correctly kept vrat restored him. The story's teaching is the vrat's own rule: the fast is real, the moon must be the real moon, and shortcuts help no one — a story every family retells while the actual moonrise creeps closer.
The Day, Hour by Hour
The day begins before dawn with sargi — the pre-sunrise meal traditionally sent by the mother-in-law: fruits, feni, sweets, and enough water to last the day, taken before the fast locks in at sunrise. Through the day the fasting women dress in bridal reds and mehndi; in the afternoon they gather for the Karva Chauth katha, passing the karvas in a circle as the story of Veervati is told, with Gauri, Ganesha and Chauth Mata worshipped. Then comes the long wait for the moon — which rises late on Chaturthi. At local moonrise the moon is viewed through a sieve, then the husband through the same sieve; arghya is offered, he gives her the first sip of water and the first bite of food, and the fast ends. The exact Ottawa date and this page's computed local moonrise are in the Festivals & Dates list.
Karva Chauth in Ottawa & Canada
The moonrise is the whole game, and it is fiercely local: Ottawa's Karva Chauth moon rises at its own time — often quite different from any Indian city's — so use the computed Ottawa moonrise on this page rather than a time heard from family in India. October evenings here are cold and often cloudy; tradition's accepted answer for an invisible moon is patience first, and then, once the computed moonrise has certainly passed, offering arghya in the moon's direction. Ottawa's Indian community organizes group katha gatherings, and the mandirs hold Karva Chauth programmes — see our Hindu temples in Ottawa guide. The full Karva Chauth vrat katha, in Hindi and English, is in our library, linked below — ready for the afternoon telling.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
When is Karva Chauth this year in Ottawa, and what time does the moon rise?
The exact Ottawa date is shown in the Festivals & Dates list on this page, computed for the Canadian timezone. The moonrise time is local to Ottawa — check our Panchang page for the precise moonrise on the day.
What if the moon isn't visible because of clouds?
Wait until the computed moonrise time has clearly passed, then offer arghya facing the moon's direction — tradition accepts the moon's presence above the clouds. Some families also accept viewing a live darshan from a temple broadcast.
Can unmarried women or husbands keep the fast?
Yes — many unmarried women keep it praying for a good match, and it is now common for husbands to fast alongside their wives. The traditional core remains the married woman's vrat, but shared observance is widely embraced.
Source: Vamana Purana tradition, North Indian vrat tradition. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.