Chhath

The Chhath Puja is dedicated to the Sun God. The sun is the god visible to every being, is the basis of life of all creatures on earth Along with the Sun God, Chhathi Maiya is also worshipped on this day. According to Vedic Astrology, Chhathi maiya or Chhathi mata protects the offspring and provides longevity to them.[20] Holy Books of Hinduism including Vedas and Gita nowhere mention celebrating Chhath Puja.[21]

In the Hindu religion, the Shashthi Devi has also been known as Manas Daughter of Brahma ji. In the Puranas, she is also said to be the mother Katyayani, who is worshiped on Navratri on the Shashti date. Shashthi Devi is said to be Chhath Maiya in the local language of Bihar-Jharkhand.

Chhath Puja is a folk festival that lasted four days. This is a four-day festival, which starts with Kartik Shukla Chaturthi and ends with Kartik Shukla Saptami.

Chhat Puja Offerings

Get all the samagri before the Chhath puja and offer an arghya to Sun God:

●  1 large bamboo baskets, 3 soop made of bamboo or brass, plate, milk and glass

●  Rice, red vermilion, lamp, coconut, turmeric, sugarcane, suthani, vegetable and sweet potato

●  Pear, big lemons, honey, paan, whole herd, caravans, camphor, sandalwood and dessert

●  As prasad, take thekua, malpua, kheer-puri, semolina pudding, rice ladoos.

Place the above Chhath puja samagri in the bamboo basket. Put the whole prasad in soop and burn the lamp in the soop. Then, all the women stand in knee deep water with traditional soop in their hands to offer an arghya to the sun.

The Chhathi Maiya is worshiped on the Chhath festival, which is also mentioned in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana. According to a legend, King Priyavrat, son of First Manu Swayambhu, had no children. Because of this, he used to be very sad. Maharishi Kashyap asked him to do a yajna. According to Maharishis orders, he performed a yajna for a son. After this, Queen Malini gave birth to a son but unfortunately the baby was born dead. King and other family members were very sad because of this. Only then a craft seen in the sky, where Mata Shashthi was sitting. When the king prayed to her, then she introduced herself and said that - I am the manas daughter of Lord Brahma, Shashthi Devi. I protect all the children of the world and give the blessings of children to all childless parents.

After this, Goddess blessed the lifeless child with her hands, so that he was alive. The king was very pleased with the grace of Goddess and he worshiped the goddess Shashthi Devi. It is believed that after this puja, this festival is celebrated worldwide.

Chhath Puja is a festival of religious and cultural importance. This is the only festival in which the Sun is worshipped and offered an arghya. Arghya is offered the in evening and in the morning to the setting and rising sun respectively. The worship of the sun in Hindu religion is of great importance. He is the only God whom we can see on a regular basis. In the Vedas, the Sun God is called the soul of the world. The light of the sun has an ability to destroy many diseases. With the auspicious effect of the sun, the person gets health, wealth and self-confidence. In Vedic astrology, the sun is said to be the factor of soul, father, ancestor, respect and high government services. On the occasion of Chhath Puja, 'Chhathi Maiya' is also worshipped and hailed. It is said doing this Puja brings fortunes, well- being for the children, pleasure and desire. Culturally, the main feature of this festival is the simplicity of tradition, love for purity and nature.

• Chaitra Chhath - Distinctly known as "Chaiti Chhath", this is observed in the Chaitra month of Vikram Samvat.
• Kartik Chhath - Popularly called "Chhath", this is celebrated at very large scale in the Kartika month of Vikram Samvat.

Deo Surya Mandir World Top Sun Temple in Deo, Bihar, Aurangabad Bihar, India

[26]

Chhath is a Vedic ritual dedicated to Hindu solar deity Surya, and goddess Shashthi (also called Chhathi Maiyya).[27] It has also been mentioned in both the major Indian epics - In Ramayana, when Rama and Sita returned Ayodhya, then people celebrated Deepawali, and on its sixth day Ramrajya was established. On this day Rama and Sita kept fast and Surya Shashthi/Chhath Puja was performed by Sita. Hence, she was blessed with Luv and Kush as their sons. While in the Mahabharata, Chhath Puja was performed by Kunti after they escaped from Lakshagrih.

The main worshipers, called parvaitin (from Sanskrit parv, meaning "occasion" or "festival"), are usually women. However, many men also observe this festival as Chhath is not a gender-specific festival.[28] The parvaitin pray for the well-being of their family, and for the prosperity of their offspring. In some communities, once a family member starts performing Chhath Puja, it is their compulsory duty to perform it every year and to pass it on to the following generations. The festival is skipped only if there happens to be a death in the family that year. If the person stops performing the ritual on any particular year, it stops permanently and one cannot resume it. In other communities, this is not mandatory.

Woman performing Chhat Puja

Chhath Puja is a four-day event. Entire house, its surrounding and pathways to the Ghaat is thoroughly cleaned. It starts with

• Kaddu Bhaat or Nahai Khai - The Parvaitin cooks the most Satvik Kaddu Bhaat (Bottle Gourd and Bengal Gram Lentil preparation with Arva Rice Bhaat) This preparation is served to the deity in the afternoon as Bhog. This initiates the parv and is the last meal of the Parvaitin during Chhath Puja
• Kharna - This is observed the next day of Kaddu Bhaat or on the eve of Pahli Arag (Arghya). The preparation starts in the afternoon. Parvaitin Cooks a Rice and Jaggery Kheer with Dosti Poori, other seasonal fruits and dry fruits as also offered to the deity as naivedya (bhoga)
• Pahli Arag
• Dusri Arag

The prasad offerings include sweets, Kheer, Thekua and fruits (mainly sugarcane, sweet lime and banana) offered in small bamboo soop winnows. The food is strictly vegetarian and is cooked without salt, onions or garlic. Emphasis is put on maintaining the purity of the food.[29]

This day is spent preparing the prasad (offerings)at home. On the eve of this day, the entire household accompanies the Vratins to a riverbank, pond or a common large water body to make the offerings (Arghya) to the setting sun. It is during this phase of Chhath Puja that the devotees offer prayers to the just setting sun. The occasion is almost a carnival. Besides the Vratins, there are friends and family, and numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and receive the blessings of the worshipper. The folk songs sung on the evening of Chhath.

After returning from ghat to home the vratins perform the ritual of kosi bharai. In this ritual the vratis along with other family members involve to perform all the rituals regarding kosi bharai. They took 5 to 7 sugarcanes and they tied them together to form mandap and beneath the shed of that mandap 12 to 24 earthen lamps are burnt and offerings like thekua and other seasonal fruits offered there.. The same ritual is repeated in the ghat next morning in between 3:00 am to 4:00 am and afterwards the vratis offers arghya or offerings to the rising sun.