Do I break the fast at the stars or at the moon?

Both are kept. Starlight is the more common and the earlier; moonrise is the stricter practice and on this tithi the moon rises late in the night. Neither is a correction of the other — follow the family's practice, and know which one it is before the day.

Is it always four days after Karwa Chauth?

In the ordinary case yes, since both are reckoned in the same dark fortnight — Karwa Chauth on the Chaturthi and Ahoi on the Ashtami. A vriddhi or kshaya tithi in between can change the interval, which is why the date is computed rather than counted.

Ahoi Ashtami

Also called Ahoi Aathe, Krishna Ashtami vrat

When

Sunday, 1 November 2026 in 52 days

New Delhi · change location

Sunrise6:36 AM

Sunset5:32 PM

Saptami until 2:52 PM
at sunrise. This observance is governed by pradosh, not by the sunrise tithi — which is why the tithi named here is often not the one the festival is named for.

Pushya until 4:30 AM, Nov 02

4:10 PM – 5:32 PM

See the complete panchang for that day →

Governed by pradosh

Why this date?

The Krishna Paksha Ashtami of the lunation that ends at the Diwali amavasya — Kartik Krishna Ashtami in the purnimanta reckoning of the north, which is Ashwin Krishna Ashtami in the amanta reckoning. The civil day is taken by the evening: the tithi that prevails through the worship period, not the one that happens to fall at sunrise. It sits four days after Karwa Chauth and eight before Diwali.

Computed by the panchanga engine for your location
Follows a written selection rule, not a copied list
The governing period is stated, and the rule is applied to it
The written guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar

Dates come from the calculation engine and are independent of the written guide. How we calculate →

Dates in the coming years

Published to 2030. Later years appear as the dataset is extended and validated.

What In short

A mothers' vrat, kept for the wellbeing and long life of one's children. The fast runs through the day and is broken in the evening, in many families only after the stars are seen — and in some, after moonrise.

Deity: Ahoi Mata

Why The reason behind it

The katha is a plain and unusually human one: a woman digging clay for her house accidentally kills a lion cub, and the vrat is kept in expiation and in petition for her own children's safety. Ahoi Mata is depicted with her cubs on the wall-drawing or the printed image the household uses, which is why the vrat's picture is of a mother with young rather than of a deity in the usual sense.

Traditional basis

Regional vrata-katha tradition — The Ahoi katha is carried by household recitation rather than by a fixed textual recension, in the same manner as the Karwa Chauth katha it is paired with.

Kartik-month vrata literature — Places the observance in the Kartik dark fortnight alongside the season's other household vratas.

How At home, step by step

Draw or install the Ahoi image — the mother with her cubs — on the wall or in the puja space.
Keep the fast through the day; it is a mothers' vrat and is kept for the children rather than for oneself.
In the evening, hear the Ahoi katha and perform the puja.
Break the fast after sighting the stars, or after moonrise where that is the family's practice.

What you'll need

The Ahoi image or wall drawing
A silver ahoi or coin where the family keeps one
Water for arghya
A ghee lamp
Halwa-puri or the household's usual bhog

Fasting and breaking the fast

A day-long fast broken in the evening. Households differ on whether it ends at starlight or at moonrise, and moonrise on this tithi is late — that difference is worth settling within the family before the day rather than during it.

Fasting guidance here describes traditional practice. It is not medical advice — if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication or unwell, ask a doctor about your own circumstances.

Personal In your region

North India yours
The dominant form; the Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan practice of the silver ahoi strung on a thread is common.
Punjab (Punjabi)
Widely kept, and paired closely with Karwa Chauth four days earlier.
Gujarat (Gujarati)
Kept in a lighter form where it is kept at all.

For children

A day when mothers do not eat, and it is done for their children. There is a picture of a mother animal with her babies, and a story about being careful not to hurt them.

Common questions

Do I break the fast at the stars or at the moon?: Both are kept. Starlight is the more common and the earlier; moonrise is the stricter practice and on this tithi the moon rises late in the night. Neither is a correction of the other — follow the family's practice, and know which one it is before the day.
Is it always four days after Karwa Chauth?: In the ordinary case yes, since both are reckoned in the same dark fortnight — Karwa Chauth on the Chaturthi and Ahoi on the Ashtami. A vriddhi or kshaya tithi in between can change the interval, which is why the date is computed rather than counted.

This guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar or practising priest. The dates and times on this page come from the calculation engine and are independent of it; the explanatory text is editorial and may not reflect your family's practice. Tell us if something is wrong.