Chhath Puja Samagri List 2026: Everything for the Four Days

Chhath Puja is on Sunday, 15 November 2026. See the muhurat and timings for your city

Chhath is offered to Surya and Chhathi Maiya over four days, and almost everything it asks for is simple, fresh and made at home: a bamboo soop and daura, thekua from wheat the family has washed and dried itself, and the fruits and roots of the season.

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Nahay Khay and Kharna

Day one is a bath, a scrubbed house and one sattvik meal of kaddu bhat and chana dal. Day two is a day long fast broken at dusk with gud kheer and roti, after which the nirjala fast of roughly thirty six hours begins. Many families keep a new clay chulha and separate utensils for everything cooked from here on.

• Arwa chawal (unboiled rice)1 to 2 kgBuy fresh locally

  Arwa rice, never the parboiled kind, is used for the kaddu bhat of the first day and the gud kheer of Kharna.

• Kaddu (lauki, bottle gourd)1 or 2Buy fresh locally

  Lauki, called kaddu in Bihar, is cooked with chana dal and eaten with rice as the sattvik meal of Nahay Khay.

• Chana dalHalf kgBuy fresh locally

  Chana dal completes the Nahay Khay meal and is cooked plain, without onion or garlic.

• Sendha namak (rock salt)1 small packBuy fresh locally

  Many families cook the vrat food of these days with rock salt instead of ordinary salt, as on other fasts.

• Cow’s milk for the kheer1 to 2 litresBuy fresh locally

  The Kharna kheer, called rasiyaw in many homes, is arwa rice and gud simmered in milk and is the last food before the nirjala fast.

• Banana leaves2 or 3Buy fresh locally

  Many families offer the Kharna prasad of kheer and roti on a fresh banana leaf, and the vrati eats from it.

• New clay chulha and mango wood1 chulha, a small bundle of dry woodBuy fresh locally

  The Kharna kheer and the thekua are traditionally cooked on a new clay stove fed with dry mango wood, kept apart from the everyday kitchen.

Thekua and prasad

Thekua is usually made at home on the day of the evening arghya, in a clean kitchen, and nobody tastes it before it is offered. The same wheat, gud and ghee also go into the Kharna roti and kheer, so buy them together.

• Wheat or fresh whole wheat atta2 to 5 kg, by family sizeBuy fresh locally

  Many families wash the wheat, dry it in the sun under watch and have it freshly ground, so the flour for thekua is kept pure from the start.

• Gud (jaggery)About half the weight of the atta, plus some for the kheerBuy fresh locally

  Gud is the traditional sweetener for both the thekua and the Kharna kheer, and many homes keep refined sugar out of the prasad.

• Pure ghee1 to 2 kgBuy fresh locally

  Ghee goes into the thekua dough and is used to fry it, to finish the Kharna roti and to light the ghat diyas.

• Thekua mould (sancha)1 or 2Find on Amazon ↗

  The wooden or metal mould presses the familiar pattern into each thekua and keeps them even, so they fry through.

• Rice flour for kasarHalf to 1 kgBuy fresh locally

  Kasar, small laddoos of rice flour and gud, sit beside the thekua in the soop in many homes.

• Dry coconut, saunf and elaichiA little, optionalBuy fresh locally

  Grated dry coconut, fennel and cardamom are mixed into the thekua dough in many homes for flavour.

Soop, daura and the arghya

The soop holds the offerings and the daura carries the soops to the ghat, often on the head of a man of the family. At the ghat the vrati stands in the water holding the soop toward the sun while the family pours milk and water from the lota. Arghya is given at sunset and again at sunrise, so check the arghya times for your city on our Chhath Puja guide.

• Bamboo soopAt least 1; many families carry severalFind on Amazon ↗

  The winnowing tray of split bamboo holds each set of offerings and is raised toward the sun at the arghya.

• Daura (bamboo basket)1 or 2Find on Amazon ↗

  The large bamboo basket carries the filled soops, thekua and fruit to the ghat and back again.

• Brass or copper lota1 or 2Find on Amazon ↗

  The lota holds the milk and water that are poured as arghya over the soop, toward the sun.

• Raw cow’s milk for the arghyaHalf to 1 litre for each arghyaBuy fresh locally

  Unboiled cow’s milk, poured with water, is the arghya itself at both the evening and the dawn offering.

• Clean waterA lota for each arghyaFrom home

  Water from the river, the pond or a clean home supply is poured with the milk, and many families add a few drops of Gangajal.

• Dhoop and agarbatti1 packFind on Amazon ↗

  Dhoop is lit beside the daura at the ghat and at the kosi through the night.

Fruits and roots for the soop

These are what make a Chhath soop look like no other: whole, seasonal and mostly straight from the field, with leaves and roots left on. Buy them fresh from a local market a day or two before, wash them and keep them in the shade. What each soop holds varies by family and by what the market has.

• Sugarcane with leavesA few whole sticks, plus 5 more for the kosiBuy fresh locally

  Whole sugarcane with its green top is carried to the ghat and stood beside the daura, and for the kosi the sticks are tied into a canopy.

• Coconut with husk1 per soopBuy fresh locally

  A whole coconut with its husk left on is placed in every soop and is among the essential offerings.

• Banana bunch1 whole bunch, plus a few for each soopBuy fresh locally

  A whole bunch of bananas, often still green, is offered intact and shared as prasad after the dawn arghya.

• Gagal (the big lemon)1 per soopBuy fresh locally

  The large thick skinned lemon, called gagal or simply nimbu in Bihar, is found in almost every Chhath soop.

• Singhara (water chestnut)A handful per soopBuy fresh locally

  Fresh water chestnuts, a fruit of the ponds in this season, are offered in their dark shells.

• Shakarkand (sweet potato)2 or 3 per soopBuy fresh locally

  Sweet potato, freshly dug in this season, is one of the roots offered whole and unpeeled.

• SuthniA few per soopBuy fresh locally

  Suthni, a small earthy tuber of the yam family sold mainly around Chhath, is a root many families in Bihar would not leave out.

• Fresh turmeric plant1 plant with leavesBuy fresh locally

  Fresh turmeric is offered whole with its leaves and root, as a sign of the new harvest and of auspiciousness.

• Fresh ginger plant1 plant with leavesBuy fresh locally

  Like turmeric, ginger goes into the soop as a whole green plant rather than as a cut root.

• Other seasonal fruitsA few kinds, as your family keepsBuy fresh locally

  Radish with its leaves, apple, orange, custard apple, pomegranate, pear or amla fill out the soop, chosen from what the season brings.

Diyas, sindoor and the vrati

Diyas burn at the ghat at both arghya and around the kosi at night. The vrati wears new, simple clothes, and many married women vratis wear the long orange sindoor that runs from the nose to the parting.

• Clay diyas with cotton wicks11 or more, plus extra for the kosiFind on Amazon ↗

  A ghee diya is lit in the soop or beside the daura at each arghya, and more of them light the kosi through the night.

• Orange sindoor1 boxFind on Amazon ↗

  Many married vratis apply orange sindoor from the tip of the nose to the parting, and many homes also mark the soop with it.

• New clothes for the vrati1 set, plus a dry changeBuy fresh locally

  Vratis wear new clothes for the arghya as a mark of purity, usually a simple cotton saree for women and a dhoti for men.

The kosi, where families keep it

Families who have made a vow to Chhathi Maiya, or whose wish has been fulfilled, fill the kosi on the night after the evening arghya, in the courtyard or on the roof. Sugarcane sticks, five in many homes, are tied into a canopy, the clay kosi and hathi are set beneath it with diyas, thekua and fruit, and the women sing Chhath songs around it. Many families fill it again at the ghat before the dawn arghya.

• Clay kosi1Find on Amazon ↗

  The kosi is an earthen pot with several small lamp holders around it, lit and set at the centre of the sugarcane canopy.

• Clay hathi (elephant)1Find on Amazon ↗

  A clay elephant, often with a small kalash or diyas on its back, is placed under the canopy beside the kosi.

• Red or yellow cloth1 to 2 metresFind on Amazon ↗

  In many homes a cloth ties the tops of the sugarcane together and is spread beneath the kosi.

There is no priest and no elaborate altar, so the offerings themselves are the heart of the puja. This list follows the four days as Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh keep them, from Nahay Khay and Kharna to the evening and dawn arghya and the kosi, with how much to arrange and why each thing is there. Fresh items are marked to buy locally, and only the durable things carry a shopping link.

Setting it up

1. A few days ahead, clean the house and kitchen, set aside new or separate utensils and a clay chulha, and wash and sun dry the wheat for thekua.
2. On Nahay Khay, after the bath, cook kaddu bhat and chana dal in ghee for the vrati’s one meal, with rock salt if your family uses it.
3. On Kharna, cook the gud kheer and roti on the clay chulha at dusk, offer them on a banana leaf, and let the vrati eat first in quiet before the family takes prasad.
4. On the day of the evening arghya, make the thekua and kasar fresh, and wash every fruit and root.
5. Fill each soop with thekua, kasar, coconut, gagal, banana, singhara, sweet potato, suthni, the turmeric and ginger plants and other fruit, and mark it with sindoor if your family does.
6. Stack the soops in the daura, cover it with a clean cloth, and carry it to the ghat with the sugarcane, lota, milk, diyas and dhoop.
7. At the ghat, light the diyas; as the sun sets the vrati stands in the water holding each soop while the family pours milk and water from the lota. Check the arghya times for your city on our Chhath Puja guide.
8. If your family keeps the kosi, fill it that night under the sugarcane canopy, then return to the ghat before dawn with the daura for the Usha Arghya and the parana.

Tips

• Buy the soop, daura, lota, thekua mould and clay hathi a week or two early, since the markets near the ghats get crowded and prices rise in the last days.
• If you cannot wash and dry wheat at home, buy a fresh sealed pack of whole wheat atta and keep it apart from the everyday flour.
• Suthni, gagal, singhara and turmeric plants can sell out at the end, so buy them a day or two before and keep them in the shade under a damp cloth.
• Soak new clay diyas in water for a few hours and dry them before use so they drink less ghee, and carry a matchbox and a covered lamp, as ghats are windy.
• Choose bamboo, clay and cloth over plastic and thermocol, and bring back everything you carried so the ghat stays clean for the dawn arghya.
• Keep a dry change of clothes, a shawl and a towel ready for the vrati, who stands in cold water at both the evening and the dawn arghya.

Across regions

Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh keep the fullest form of this list, and the details shift from district to district: kasar is called ladua in some homes, the Kharna kheer goes by different names, and the fruits in a soop follow what the local market brings. The Terai of Nepal keeps Chhath with much the same daura and soop. Families in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and abroad keep the essentials and adapt where they must, standing in a pond, a pool or even a tank of clean water built at home when no river is near, and some use a brass soop in place of bamboo. Some households cook the prasad on a new gas stove with separate utensils instead of a clay chulha, and the kosi is kept only by families with a vow. Some families also keep Chaiti Chhath in the month of Chaitra, with a similar list adjusted to that season’s fruit.

Questions

What is kept in the Chhath soop?

Thekua and kasar, a whole coconut, gagal, bananas, singhara, sweet potato, suthni, fresh turmeric and ginger plants and other seasonal fruit, with a diya. Sugarcane and the full banana bunch are carried alongside rather than inside it.

How many soops are needed for Chhath?

At least one for the vrati. Many families carry several, often one for each child or member of the family, or as many as a vow promised, and there is no single fixed number.

What is kosi bharna in Chhath?

On the night after the evening arghya, families with a vow tie sugarcane into a canopy and set a lit clay kosi and hathi beneath it with thekua, fruit and diyas, singing Chhath songs around it. Many fill it again at the ghat before the dawn arghya.

Which Chhath samagri can be bought online?

Durable things travel well: the bamboo soop and daura, a brass or copper lota, a thekua mould, clay diyas, orange sindoor, dhoop and the kosi and clay hathi. Sugarcane, fruit, roots, milk and ghee are best bought fresh from a local market.

What is thekua made of?

Wheat flour, gud and ghee, often with grated dry coconut, fennel or cardamom, pressed in a wooden mould and fried, traditionally in ghee. It is made fresh at home and not tasted before it is offered.

The full Chhath Puja 2026 guide
More samagri lists: Karwa Chauth · Dhanteras · Diwali