Chhath Puja: What is it, what makes it the most important festival of Bihar

Beliefs down wherefore Chhath is celebrated

Chhath Puja is simply a four-day elaborate solemnisation successful honour of the Sun. It involves a agelong accelerated without water, and making offerings to Usha and Pratyusha — the airy of the rising and the mounting Sun respectively — portion lasting successful a h2o body. The salient rituals statesman from the sixth time (shashthi) of the Kartik shukla paksha, which means the waxing-moon fortnight of the period of Kartik.

Several beliefs are prevalent astir wherefore Chhath is observed. Some judge that it is simply a carryover from the clip that antheral worshipped nature. Others hint its origins successful the large epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The Rig Veda mentions elaborate rituals to worship the sun.

After Lord Ram and Goddess Sita returned victorious to Ayodhya from Lanka, they are said to person observed a accelerated and conducted a yagna for the Sun god.

In the Mahabharata, erstwhile the Pandavas were successful exile, immoderate sages visited them. Draupadi, realising she had thing to connection them, went to sage Dhaumya for help. He advised her to observe a accelerated and commune to the Sun, and eventually, each her prayers were answered. In the aforesaid epic, Karna besides organised an elaborate ceremonial successful honour of Surya (the Sun), his father.

“Both Sita and Draupadi conducted their Sun worship connected the Kartik shukla paksha shashthi. Worshipping the Sun connected shashthi is considered specially auspicious,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar Upadhyay, president of the Bhartiya Jyotish Aadhyatm parishad successful Jamshedpur.

Today, Chhath is simply a festival that epitomises religiosity successful Bihar, and countless devotees, who articulation their hands arsenic the Sun’s rays dispersed implicit them, consciousness the interaction of divinity and devotion successful a measurement small other brings to them.

While lone immoderate radical observe the fast, the full assemblage gets progressive successful making the festival a occurrence — cleaning stream banks and the roads starring up to those banks, gathering each the small things needed for the rituals, and preparing thekuas, the festival prasad which is present synonymous with Bihari cuisine.

How Chhath is celebrated

Chhath Puja is held six days aft Diwali, successful October-November. Some radical observe it successful the period of Chaitra besides (in April), which is called the Chaiti Chhath.

Chhathi maiya oregon Mother Chhathi, Sun’s sister, is considered an exacting but generous deity. While the rules governing the four-day festival are exceedingly strict, immense spiritual gains are said to accrue to whoever observes them each successfully.

“Apart from being the Sun’s sister, Chhathi maiya is besides the girl of Rishi Kashyap and Aditi. She is the woman of Kartikeya, Lord Shiva’s son,” said Dr Upadhyay, who has a Phd from Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University.

The archetypal time of the festival is called naha kha, wherever those observing it instrumentality a repast (khana) lone aft a ceremonial bath successful a stream oregon a pond (nahana). Water brought backmost from the waterbody is utilized to marque a chulha oregon stove, and meals for those observing the accelerated are prepared connected this for the remainder of the festival. The repast partaken aft the bath consists of a pumpkin sabzi. Over the years, those who can’t spell to a waterbody person started observing each the rituals astatine home.

The 2nd time is called kharna, connected which the 1 observing the accelerated takes lone 1 repast successful the evening, of roti and kheer (rice pudding). This is besides the time friends and household stitchery to hole thekuas, which are fundamentally flour cakes with sweetener oregon jaggery fried successful ghee. The thekuas, besides called khajoor, are prepared taking large precautions to marque definite they are cleanable for the deity. People tin person them lone aft they person been offered to God.

After the roti-kheer repast begins a 36-hour fast, during which devotees don’t adjacent portion water.

On the 3rd day, devotees spell to the banks of a h2o body. Those who can’t, physique a impermanent excavation successful their homes. The banks are decorated with diyas, rangoli, and sugarcane stalks. All the offerings to the gods — seasonal fruits similar saccharine potato, h2o chestnuts, pomelo, banana — are placed successful soops (cane baskets) on with diyas.

People store for soops, oregon cane baskets, for Chhath successful Amritsar connected Nov. 6, 2024. (PTI Photo)

As the Sun sets, the idiosyncratic fasting raises the soop to it arsenic an offering (arghya). Friends and household members of the 1 fasting determination beverage oregon h2o connected the soop. This is called the Sanjh ka Arghya, oregon the evening offering. The adjacent day, the aforesaid ritual is conducted astatine dawn, for the rising Sun, called the Bhor ka Arghya, and the assemblage returns location from the riverbanks, grateful for the palmy decision of a hard festival and for having taken portion successful it.

In South India too, specially successful Tamil Nadu, Skanda Shasthi is observed astir this period, wherever Lord Kartikeya and his wives are worshipped.

What makes Chhath unique

There are galore reasons that Chhath has specified a peculiar spot successful Purvanchalis’ heart. This festival means the coming unneurotic of the community, the legendary Bihari migrants returning location to soak themselves successful their civilization and homeland erstwhile more.

People from immoderate caste tin observe the festival. There are nary priests involved, it is the devotee straight fasting for and praying to a visible, evident God, who shines connected everyone equally. The offerings made to the deity are of seasonal, locally produced and frankincense easy accessible fruit. No substance however affluent oregon mediocre you are, the rules are the aforesaid for everyone, and the occurrence of the festival lies successful however faithfully you observe the rules, not connected what standard you observe them at.

Last, and astir important, is the connection down the festival — that everyone is adjacent successful the eyes of God, that quality sustains america and is worthy honouring, and that dusk is arsenic important arsenic dawn, due to the fact that beingness is cyclical and what sets can, and will, emergence again.