Chhath Puja

Nowhere else in the world but in India will anyone find a celebration more majestic than this. It's a visual splendor, to say the least! When the time comes: just at the break of dawn when the morning lights comes gleaming down to the surface, seeing millions and millions of devotees gathered on the banks of the river Ganges, offering prayers and praises to the Sun God (Surya) in unison takes the breath away, literally. If being a mere witness to this event says so much about the epic-ness of this festival called Chhath Puja, one can only imagine what a spiritually enlightening experience it's going to be if one is a part of the whole ritual. It's a ritual, the only one in the world, where salutations are offered to the setting and rising sun with respect to the Solar Deity (Surya) being the sustainer and nurturer of all life on Earth.

This ritual, Chhath Puja, is performed on Kartik Shukla Shashti, i.e. the sixth day of the month of Kartik, as per the Hindu calendar, exactly after 6 days of the Festival of Lights, Deepawali. As per the Gregorian calendar, the festival falls in the month of October or November. It starts, two days before the actual Puja ritual is held, with self cleansing by taking a dip in the holy River Ganges, moving on to abstinence through fasting, and sleeping on the floor on single sheet, and finally ending the fast on the day of the Chhath. In between all this, arrangements to prepare the offerings are made, folk songs representing the age old culture of that particular region and modern day Chhath worship songs are played, and earthen lamps are lightened to mark the joy of honoring the Sun God, self cleansing, and celebrative sprit. Explore this section to learn more about the aspects related to this glorious festival called Chhath Puja.