Chhath Puja
छठ पूजा
An ancient Vedic festival honoring the Sun God Surya and Chhathi Maiya (Goddess Usha). Devotees stand in rivers or water bodies to offer prayers to the setting and rising sun across four days of intense rituals.
Why We Celebrate
Chhath is one of the oldest Hindu festivals, with roots in the Rigveda. It is unique because it involves no idol worship — devotees pray directly to the Sun, the source of all life. The festival honors Chhathi Maiya (Goddess Shashthi/Usha), the sister of Surya, who is believed to protect children and grant longevity. Chhath is also one of the few festivals where the setting sun is worshipped, acknowledging both endings and beginnings. The rigorous four-day discipline of fasting, purity, and standing in water demonstrates deep devotion and self-purification.
Chhath Puja is one of the most ancient Hindu festivals, with origins tracing back to the Rigveda, where hymns to Surya (the Sun God) describe rituals remarkably similar to Chhath. The festival honors Chhathi Maiya — Goddess Shashthi (or Usha, the goddess of dawn) — who is the sister of the Sun God and the protector of children, health, and longevity.
According to one legend, the sage Lomash taught King Priyavrata the Chhath ritual after the king's wife died during childbirth. The grief-stricken king was about to end his life when Chhathi Maiya appeared, revived the dead child, and blessed the family. Another story connects Chhath to Draupadi and the Pandavas, who performed the ritual during their exile on the advice of sage Dhaumya to overcome their hardships.
Chhath is unique among Hindu festivals — there is no idol worship, no priest, and no temple needed. Devotees pray directly to the Sun while standing in river water, offering arghya (water libation) to both the setting and rising sun. The four-day observance demands extraordinary physical discipline: 36 hours without water, sleeping on the floor, and maintaining complete purity. It is a festival of direct connection between the devotee and the cosmic source of life.
How It's Celebrated
Day 1 (Nahay Khay): Take a ritual bath in a river, cook and eat one meal of lauki-chana dal
Day 2 (Kharna): Observe a full-day fast, break it in the evening with kheer (rice pudding) and roti after offering to the Sun
Day 3 (Sandhya Arghya): Prepare the soop (bamboo tray) with thekua, fruits, and sugarcane. Go to a river/water body at sunset, stand in water, and offer arghya to the setting sun
Day 4 (Usha Arghya): Before dawn, return to the water body and offer arghya to the rising sun. Break the 36-hour nirjala fast after this final offering
Maintain strict hygiene and purity throughout — sleep on the floor, eat only satvic food
Regional Variations
What You Need
- Soop (bamboo winnowing tray)
- Thekua (wheat and jaggery cookies — the signature Chhath prasad)
- Fresh fruits: sugarcane, banana, coconut, water chestnuts, sweet lime
- New brass or copper utensils
- Turmeric, red sindoor, whole turmeric roots
- Cotton wicks, ghee diya, camphor
- New saree/dhoti for the main devotee
- Access to a river, pond, or clean water body
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Did You Know?
- ✦Chhath is the only Hindu festival where the setting sun is worshipped (Sandhya Arghya) — most Hindu rituals honor the rising sun. This acknowledges that endings deserve as much gratitude as beginnings.
- ✦Chhath requires no temple, no priest, and no idol — it is one of the most egalitarian Hindu festivals, where anyone of any caste or background can perform the rituals directly.
- ✦The signature Chhath prasad, Thekua (wheat and jaggery cookies), is prepared without salt and using only specific fuels like mango wood — the entire preparation must maintain ritual purity.
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