Chhath Puja

About

Chhath Puja is among the oldest and most demanding observances in the Hindu calendar. It is dedicated to Surya, the sun, and to Chhathi Maiya (also called Shashthi Devi), the mother goddess who protects children. It is especially important in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai of Nepal, and is observed by their communities all over the world.

The main day is Kartika Shukla Shashthi, the sixth day of the bright half of Kartika (chhath = sixth). The observance runs for four days, from Kartika Shukla Chaturthi to Saptami. A shorter spring version, Chaiti Chhath, is observed in the month of Chaitra.

Significance and stories

Sun worship is ancient in India, and the Rig Veda praises Surya as the source of light and life. Chhath is a way of thanking the sun for sustaining life, and of asking for health and the well-being of children and family. Devotees are called vratis (those keeping the vow), and many are women, though men also take the vow.

Stories connect Chhath to several traditions. One says that Sita and Rama, after returning to Ayodhya, observed a fast and worshipped Surya. Another links it to Draupadi and the Pandavas. Another mentions Karna, the son of Surya, who is remembered for offering water to the sun every day. These accounts differ, and families hold the one they received from their elders. The core of the festival is gratitude and discipline, not any single story.

A distinctive feature is that devotees offer prayers to both the setting sun and the rising sun, and no priest is needed.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

Because Chhath demands great care, follow your family's elders and customs closely.

1. Day 1, Nahay Khay (Chaturthi): The vrati bathes, preferably in a river or clean water, and cleans the home. The first meal is simple and pure: usually rice, chana dal and bottle gourd (lauki) cooked in ghee without onion or garlic.
2. Day 2, Kharna (Panchami): The vrati fasts all day, without water in many families. In the evening, after worship, she or he eats kheer made of rice and jaggery with rotis, which is shared with family. After this begins the long fast, usually about 36 hours without food or water.
3. Day 3, Sandhya Arghya (Shashthi): The family prepares the offerings, including thekua (a sweet fried wheat cake), fruits and sugarcane, and places them in a bamboo basket (soop or daura). In the afternoon they go to a river, pond or lake. The vrati stands in the water at sunset and offers arghya (water or milk offered with both hands) to the setting sun.
4. Night of Shashthi: Many families sing Chhath songs and perform Kosi Bharai, setting earthen lamps under a canopy of sugarcane stalks at home or at the ghat. Customs vary.
5. Day 4, Usha Arghya (Saptami): Before dawn, the family returns to the water. The vrati stands in the water and offers arghya to the rising sun.
6. After the final arghya, the vrati breaks the fast with prasad and water, followed by a light meal.

Puja items (samagri)

• Bamboo soop or daura (baskets) and a new clean cloth
• Thekua, other sweets and seasonal fruits such as banana, coconut, citrus, pomegranate
• Whole sugarcane stalks
• Clay lamps, ghee, incense, and kumkum
• Rice, jaggery, wheat flour (cleaned and ground at home in many families)
• Mango wood and a clay stove (chulha) if your family cooks that way
• Clean water vessels of copper or brass

Fasting and food

The fast after Kharna is nirjala, meaning without water, for about 36 hours in many families. This is physically demanding. People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, the elderly and children should follow their doctor's advice and may keep a lighter fast. Prasad must be cooked in a clean kitchen with total purity, with no onion or garlic, and nothing tasted before it is offered. Many families use rock salt or no salt in the prasad.

Regional customs

In Bihar, whole villages gather at ghats along the Ganga, the Sone and local ponds, and the Chhath songs are sung in Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi. In Mithila, cooking and offerings follow strict rules. In Jharkhand, the Terai of Nepal and Delhi, large community ghats are prepared, and in Mumbai people gather at beaches and lakes. Some families fulfil a vow (manauti) with a pledge to observe the festival every year. Traditions vary; follow your family's custom.

Celebrating in the USA

Chhath in the USA depends on safe and legal access to water. Many Bihari, Jharkhandi and Purvanchali community associations in different parts of the country work with temples or parks to arrange a place. Before you go, check local rules. Parks, lakes and rivers often need a permit for gatherings, and some forbid standing in the water or lighting lamps. Many groups arrange a hired pool, a large portable tank or a temple pond.

Safety matters most. Autumn water in much of the USA is very cold, and the vrati is fasting without water and may feel weak, so keep a family member close, avoid deep or fast-flowing water, bring warm dry clothes, towels and a warm drink for after arghya. Sunrise and sunset times differ in every city. Use your local times from this site. Keep the area clean and follow park rules about lamps and waste.