Chhath Puja: The Festival of Sun

Chhath Puja: The festival of Sun 

Chhath Puja is a really important festival in Northern India, especially in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, as well as some central regions of Nepal. It's an ancient Hindu Vedic festival. In this festival, the tradition is to watch the sunrise and worship the sun god. Not only in Bihar, but this festival can be seen celebrated in many parts of India. People from different sects and communities celebrate is with much joy and festivity. It is considered to be the most eco-friendly Hindu Festival.


Traditions and Rituals

                                  As compared to some other festivals of India, Chhath Puja is not comprised of worshipping any statue. It is instead a tradition of worshipping the sun god. The rituals are rigorous and observed over a period of four days. It includes holy bathing, staying in the water for a long time,(Vratta) and offering Prasad to the sun god. People who celebrate it get up very early in the morning, get bathed and wear new clean clothes, then they set out to the river ports before sunrise with puja ingredients in their hands. It is performed two times of the day at sunrise and at sunset when the sun is setting. People offer their prayers to the sun god, and after worshipping, Prasad Vitaran(Distribution of holy sweets) is done and everyone has their Prasad. The Prasad includes Banana, Kheer, Thekua, Coconut, Gujia etc After that some cultural activities also take place like singing and dancing in the evening; and after that everyone returns to their homes.


A little History

      It is believed that the ritual of Chhath puja may date back to the ancient Vedic texts, as the Rigveda contains hymns worshiping the Sun god and describes similar rituals. The rituals also find a reference in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata in which Draupadi is depicted as observing similar rites.
In Mahabharata, Draupadi and the Pandavas performed the Chhath ritual on the advice of noble sage Dhaumya. Through her worship of the Sun God, Draupadi was not only able to solve her immediate problems but also helped the Pandavas later regain their lost kingdom.
Since then, from thousands of years, this festival has been observed in the Hindu and the Nepalese communities as a symbol of hope and prosperity, which connects everyone in a single thread of brotherhood and reunites family ties.



Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

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