Chhath Pooja: Festival of worshipping the setting sun

Chhath Pooja is a festival dedicated to the worship of Lord Sun (Surya). This is the only festival in which setting sun is worshipped. It is a four day festival starting with the fifth day from Deepawali.

CJ: Sanjay Chaturvedi

Thu, Oct 29, 2009 16:33:57 IST

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Bihar News :

IN THE ongoing series of festivals now comes “Chhath Pooja”, one of the very important religious event as far as the people hailing from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh are concerned. A festival dedicated to the worship of Lord Sun (Surya). This is the only festival in which setting sun is worshipped. In all other festivals of sun, it is worshiped in its rising state. It is a four day festival starting with the fifth day from Deepawali. The four days celebration is:

Nahai Khai first day of Chhath
Kharna fasting second day of Chhath
Chhath Sandhya Argh third day of Chhath
Chhath Sooryodaya Argh fourth day of Chhath

Celebrated on the Shashthi (sixth) day of the Kartik, Shukla Paksha of Lunar Calander. The celebration starts a day before the Shashthi or Chhath as commonly called, when people observe complete fasting without eating or even drinking water till the sun sets. At the time of sunset prasad comprising kheer of sathi rice and gur alongwith the chapattis are offered to the Lord Sun with the echoes of folk songs and chanting of religious mantras before being distributed among family members to end the fasting for the day. The precaution to be taken is that of cleanliness and ensuring abstaining from salt.

The Chhath Pooja was celebrated by the Chhath Pooja Sarv Samiti in a grand way with chanting of folk songs and religious mantras. Artists from Delhi and Eastern Uttar Pradesh marked their presence in the festival. Some of the artists, who participated in the festival are Rangila Bharti, Rajni Verma and Narendra Kumar of T-Series. Meenakshi Bhardwaj of Little Champ fame also participated.

As B P Verma, one of the devotees said that in their natives, the utensils and even the wheat mill has to be cleaned and washed properly before the eatables are cooked. The ingredients needed for prasad are coconut, banana and sugarcane along with the sathi rice, gur and milk.

"On Shashthi, after fasting for the whole day, the devotees offer prayers to the setting sun while standing in the river or pond or artificially made reservoir. It is mandatory to offer prayer while standing in the water," said Ramnath Pandey, president of Avdhi Samaj, Greater Noida.

The fasting which starts on Shashthi morning ends only after worshiping the rising sun the next day. Regarding the concept of worshiping sun at the setting time on sixth and at rising time on the very next day, Verma said, “It is said that there were two daughters of Lord Sun Chhaya and Maya. Chhaya as the name suggests is worshiped with the setting sun and Maya with the rising one.” “There are a number of sayings related to the festival. However, it is treated to be a festival which relieves the devotees of all the diseases,” Verma said. People believe that the childless people who follow the rituals of Chhath Pooja are blessed with child.

Amarnath Pandey, another resident of Bihar said that the four day festival is a grand celebration in the native. In the city, there are around 10,000 devotees who celebrate this festival, said Pandey.

Sunil Upadhyay, chartered accountant by profession, hailing from Eastern Uttar Pradesh said that it is not that the fasting is observed by the ladies only. This is the festival in which the male members of the family also observe the fast.

The district administration has made its own preparations for the smooth completion of the festival. Chhath Pooja Park has been earmarked opposite IC College. The devotees have been using this place for performing the rituals for the last six years.

Chhath Pooja, which has also been a political score in the recent years is a festival of total dedication and submission to Lord Sun, the power providing light to the world.

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