CHHATH PUJA
1. Context
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended warm wishes to the nation on the occasion of Chhath Puja. This significant festival, celebrated on November 19, 2023, holds deep roots in Bihar, parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal. Notably, Chhath Puja has gained increased visibility nationwide in recent years, with images of its celebration even reaching international shores.
2. About Chhath Puja
- Chhath Puja is a four-day elaborate celebration in honour of the Sun, which involves a long fast without water, and making offerings to Usha and Pratyusha, the light of the rising and the setting Sun, while standing in a water body.
- Several beliefs are prevalent about why Chhath is observed. Some believe that it is a carryover from the time that man worshipped nature.
- After Lord Ram and Goddess Sita returned victorious to Ayodhya from Lanka, they are said to have observed a fast and conducted a yagna for the Sun god.
- In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were in exile, Draupadi went to sage Dhaumya for help, who advised her to observe a fast and pray to the Sun, and eventually, all her prayers were answered.
- Karna also organized an elaborate ceremony in honour of Surya (the Sun), his father.
Image Source: Her Zindagi3. How Chhath is Celebrated
Chhath Puja kicks off on the sixth day of the Kartik month, extending to October-November.
Some people celebrate it in the month of Chaitra also (in April), which is called the Chaiti Chhath. Devotees honour Chhathi maiyya, the Sun's sister, following strict rules for spiritual gains. The festival involves cleansing rituals, the preparation of special offerings, and the creation of thekuas, a significant element in Bihari cuisine.
- The first day of the festival is called naha kha, where those observing it take a meal (khana) only after a ceremonial bath in a river, a pond, or the sea (nahana).
- The second day is called kharna, on which the one observing the fast takes only one meal in the evening, of roti and kheer (rice pudding). This is also the day friends and family gather to prepare thekuas, which are essentially flour cakes with sugar or jaggery fried in ghee.
- The third day is called Sanjh ka Arghya, devotees go to the banks of a water body. Those who can't, build a temporary pool in their homes. The banks are decorated with diyas, rangoli, and sugarcane stalks
- The fourth day is called Bhor ka Arghya, the same ritual is conducted at dawn, for the rising Sun, called the Bhor ka Arghya, and the community returns home from the riverbanks, grateful for the successful conclusion of a difficult festival and for having taken part in it.
