Chhath Puja is a four-day festival dedicated to Lord Surya and Chhathi Maiya, according to the Hindu calendar. The festival is celebrated in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and also in Nepal for the worship of Lord Surya.
Lord Surya is worshipped by vratis or devotees for the prosperity and well-being of the family members. Commonly, women observe fast on Chhath but nowadays, men also follow it.
Significance of Chhath Puja
It is believed that the Chhath puja has its origin from Rig Veda and in ancient times, Draupadi and the Pandavas of Hastinapur celebrated this festival to retrieve their lost kingdom.
As per the ancient tradition, Chhath puja was initially performed by Karna, who is considered the offspring of Lord Surya and Kunti.
During the times of Mahabharata, Karna ruled in Anga Desh, modern day Bhagalpur in Bihar.
Festival Days, Start and End
In 2021,the festival starts with Nahay Khay on November 8, 2021, and ends with Usha Arghya on November 11, 2021. The auspicious day starts after the sixth day of Diwali and on the sixth day in the month of Kartik.
Day 1: Nahay Khay
The first day is known as Nahay Khay and devotees, especially women, observe fast by taking a holy dip in Ganga by consuming only a single meal. Devotees wear clean clothes and give offerings to the idols of Lord Surya, on Nahay Khay, the first day of Chhath Puja, this includes Chana daal and Kaddoo Bhaat.
This year, this day for the Chhath puja is on November 08, 2021, with sunrise at 06:46 AM and sunset at 05:26 PM.
Day 2: Kharna
The second day is called Kharna and the fast starts from sunrise till sunset without consumption of water.
The fast ends by offering food to the sun and Chhath Mata. Women start the fast by taking prasad. On Kharna, the second day, prasad is made up of kheer with jaggery and arwa rice.
The day is observed on November 09, 2021, and sunrise at 06:39 AM and 05:30 PM at sunset.
Day 3: Sandhya Arghya
On the third day of Chhath, devotees observe a fast without water known as Sandhya Arghya.
On this particular day, arghya is offered to the setting sun. The prasad of thekua including jaggery, ghee, and flour is prepared by the devotees and consumed at sunset along with family members offering arghya to Lord Surya, known as Sandhya Arghya or Pehli Arghya.
The Sandhya Arghya falls on November 10, 2021, with sunrise at 06:40 AM while sunset is 05:30 PM.
Day 4: Usha Arghya
The fourth and final day of the auspicious Chhath puja is called Usha Arghya or Dusri Arghya. This time, the arghya is offered to the rising sun and the long fast of 36 hours is broken by giving prayers to the sun. The final day, i.e., is the fourth day of Chhath Puja is also known as Paran Din
The devotees eat only Satvik food i.e. food without onion and garlic.
Usha Arghya will be observed on November 11 with sunrise and sunset timings to be at 06:41 AM and 05:29 PM respectively.
Common Chhath Puja Traditions
Fasting is observed for 36 hours, which lasts for 4 days and the fast continues for the entire night till the sunrise of the next day.
Mantras are chanted from the Rig Veda by offering prayers to the sun.
The prasad does not contain any salt.
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