Chatt Puja: The Festival of Purity

Chatt puja is an ancient Hindu Vedic festival celebrated in Madhesh province and Mithila region of Nepal and Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh. It is completely dedicated to the Sun and his wife Usha in order to thank them for their blessings of life on earth. It is celebrated with a lot of purity. This is the only festival where we worship not only the rising sun but also the setting sun. The rituals of the festival are very strict and are observed over a period of four days continuously.

On the first day of Chatt puja devotees cook food with all purity and have it only after taking a holy bath. On the second day the devotees remain on fast without having a single drop of water for the whole day. In the evening they prepare Prasad with milk and after offering it to god, eat them. Prasad is made with ultimate purity and cleanliness.  Third day is the day to go to the banks of river to offer puja to the setting sun. All kind of seasonal fruits and veggies are offered to sun.

Devotees abstain from drinking water for more than 36 hours. The offering is called Arghya. On the very next morning the fast is opened by offering Arghya to the rising sun. It is claimed by the environmentalists that Chhath is the most eco-friendly Hindu festival. With the ritual of “Paran” the four days festival concludes. The festival is being popular worldwide.

Wikipedia.org

Anita Aishvarya