Chhath Pooja, also known as Sun Shashthi is celebrated on Kartik Shukla Shashthi. This festival is celebrated after six days of Diwali and mainly celebrated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand with great glee. On Chhath Pooja, worshiping Sun God and Chhathi maiya helps you gain wealth, health and happiness. In the last few years, Chhath Puja has got a special significance as a folk festival. This is the reason why the festival is celebrated with great pomp and display.
The Chhath Pooja is dedicated to the Sun God. The sun is the god visible to every being, is the basis of life of all creature on earth. Along with the Sun God, Chhathi Maiya is also worshipped on this day. According to Vedic Astrology, Chhathi maiya or Chhathi mata protect the children and provides longevity to them.
In the Hindu faith, the Shashthi Devi has also been known as Manas Daughter of Brahma ji. In the Puranas, she is also said to be the Maa Katyayani, who is worship on Navratri on the Shashthi date. Shashthi Devi is said to be Chhath Maiya in the local tongue of Bihar-Jharkhand.
Chhath Pooja is a folk festival that lasted 4 days. This is a 4-days festival, which starts with Kartik Shukla Chaturthi and ends with Kartik Shukla Saptami.
This is the 1st day of Chhath Pooja. This means that after bathing, the house is clean and pure vegetarian food is eaten to protect the mind from the vengeful tendency.
Kharna is the 2nd day of Chhath Pooja. Kharna means the fast of the whole day. On this day, the devotees are not allowed to drink even a single drop of water. In the evening, they can eat Gur ki kheer (jaggery kheer), fruits and chapatti full of ghee.
On the 3ed day of Chhath Pooja, an Arghya is offered to the sun god during the Kartik Shukla Shashthi. In the evening, a bamboo basket is decorated with fruits, rice laddus and thekua, after which devotees offer an Arghya to the sun with their families. At the time of Arghya, water and milk is offered to Sun God and the Chhathi Maiya is worshiped from a sup filled with Prasad. After the worship of Sun God, Shashthi Devi songs are sung in the night and the Vrat katha is heard.
On the 4th and last day of Chhath Pooja in the morning, an Arghya is offered to the Sun God. On this day, before sunrise, the devotees have to go to the river bank to offer an Arghya to the rising sun. After this, the safety of the child from Chhathi maiya and the happiness of the entire family are sought for peace. After worship, devotees drink sharbaat and raw milk, and eat a little Prasad in order to break one’s fast which is called Paran or Parana.
Get all the Samagri before the Chhath puja and offer an Arghya to Sun God:
Place the above Chhath pooja Samagri in the bamboo basket. Put the whole Prasad in sup and burn the lamp in the sup. Then, all the women stand in knee deep water with traditional sup in their hands to offer an Arghya to the sun.
The Chhathi Maiya is worshiped on the Chhath festival, which is also mention in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana. According to a legend, King Priyavrat, son of 1st Manu Swayambhu, had no children. Because of this, he used to be very depressing. Maharishi Kashyap asked him to do a yajna. According to Maharishis orders, he performs a yajna for a son. After this, Queen Malini gave birth to a son but unluckily the baby was born dead. King and other family members were very sad because of this. Only then a craft seen in the sky, where Mata Shashthi was sitting. When the king pray to her, then she introduce her and said that - I am the manas daughter of Lord Brahma, Shashthi Devi. I protect all the children of the world and give the blessing of children to all childless parents.
After this, Goddess blessed the dead child with her hands, so that he was alive. The king was extremely pleased with the pity of Goddess and he worshiped the goddess Shashthi Devi. It is believed that after this pooja, this festival is celebrated worldwide.
Chhath Pooja is a festival of spiritual and cultural significance. This is the only festival in which Sun god is worshipped and offered an Arghya. The worship of the sun in Hindu faith is of great significance. He is the only God whom we can see on a regular basis. In the Vedas, the Sun God is called the spirit of the world. The light of the sun has a skill to destroy many diseases. With the favorable effect of the sun, the person gets wealth health, and self-confidence. In Vedic astrology, the sun is said to be the factor of father, soul, ancestor, respect and high government services. On the Chhath Pooja, worship of Sun god and Shashthi Maiya is achieved for a children, pleasure, person, and desire. Culturally, the main feature of this festival is the simplicity of tradition, love for purity and nature.
The Chhath festival is of great significance even as per scientific and astrological point of view. The 6th Tithi of the Kartik Shukla Paksha is a special astronomical time, when the sun is placed in the southern hemisphere of the earth. During this time, ultraviolet rays of the sun collect more than the normal amount on the earth. The direct effect of these damaging rays falls on people’s eyes, stomach and skin. The worship and offering an Arghya to the sun on the Chhath Pooja should not harm the person with ultraviolet rays, hence the significance of Sun worship increase.
