Traditional Hindu Festival 'Chhath Parva'

Chhath is a traditional Hindu festival that is celebrated with a lot of joy and enthusiasm in north India, especially in Bihar and Jharkhand. Also known as 'Chhath Parva' or 'Dala Chhath', this festival is celebrated six days after the auspicious festival of Diwali in India.

This ancient Hindu festival, dedicated to Lord Surya and Chhathi Maiya (known to be the sister of Surya), It is the only Vedic festival that is dedicated to the Sun God, who is supposed to be the source of all powers and Chhathi Maiya (another name for Goddess Usha from the Vedic period).

The god of light, energy and life force is worshipped in order to promote well being, development and the prosperity of human beings.

Through this festival, people aim towards thanking the Sun God for a period of four days. The devotees who observe the fast during this festival are called Vrati.

The word chhath translates to ‘sixth’ in Nepali, Maithili and Bhojpuri languages. Celebrated on the sixth day of the month of Karthik, the first day of the festival is known as Nahay Khay when devotees go to holy water bodies and take a dip and also observe fasts.

On the next day, known as Kharna, devotees observe fast without drinking water from sunrise to sunset. The fast is broken only after offering food to the Sun after 36 hours.

Significance

There are several legends that explain in detail the origin of Chhath Puja. It is believed that in ancient times, Draupadi and the Pandavas of Hastinapur used to celebrate Chhath in order to solve their issues and gain their lost kingdom again. A few mantras from the Rig Veda texts are chanted by worshippers while offering prayers to the Sun.

According to another legend, Chhath Puja was first performed by Karna, who is considered to be an offspring of Lord Surya and Kunti. He ruled over the Anga Desh which is the modern-day Bhagalpur in Bihar, during the age of Mahabharata.

As per a legend, Chhath Puja is being performed from the Early Vedic Period. The legend has it that the sages of that era used to perform the puja by exposing themselves to direct sunlight to gain energy from the rays of the Sun and did not consume any eatables.

Interesting & Unique Facts Associated with Chhath Puja

Chhath Puja is the only Vedic Festival which is celebrated in India

Chhath Puja is associated with Hindu epics involving Ramayana and Mahabharata with more than 1 character of Mahabharata associated.

Chhath Puja is the only Hindu festival where all the rituals of the festival have some scientific reasons and all of them altogether represent a rigorous scientific process for detoxification.

Chhath Puja are crafted in a way which involves optimum absorption of Calcium & Vitamin D into the body which is really beneficial for the women.

Chhath Puja also helps increasing the immunity of the body.

The four days of Chhath Puja offers great mental benefits to the devotees. Chhath Puja calms the mind of devotees and reduces the negative energy like hatred, fear and anger.

The custom of offering prayer to the Sun god was also prevalent in the Babylonian civilization and ancient Egyptian civilization.