Chhath Puja is among the most physically demanding major festivals in the entire Hindu calendar, built around a strict 36-hour fast observed without even water, and centred on a f…
Chhath Puja has ancient roots as one of the oldest continuously observed Hindu festivals, with textual references including the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and local tradition in Bihar's Munger region specifically crediting Sita with performing the earliest Chhath rituals at the Sitacharan temple on the banks of the Ganges.
The festival honours Surya, the sun god, and Chhathi Maiya, his sister, giving thanks for the sustaining power of sunlight and praying for the health and prosperity of one's family, particularly children.
According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, King Priyavrat and Queen Malini, grieving after the loss of a stillborn child, were visited by the goddess Shashthi, who identified herself as the sixth form of Parvati, protector of children — she blessed the royal couple, and the tradition of Chhath worship, honouring her as Chhathi Maiya, is said to have originated from this encounter.
Celebrated with particular intensity in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, and carried by diaspora communities from these regions to wherever they have settled, including major cities across India and abroad, where local riverbanks or artificial water bodies are used for the ritual offerings.
Devotees observe a strict 36-hour waterless fast across the festival's middle days, culminating in standing in river water to offer Sandhya Arghya (evening offering) at sunset and Usha Arghya (morning offering) at the following sunrise, breaking the fast only after the second offering.
The four-day sequence moves through Nahay Khay (ritual bath and pure meal), Kharna (the fast's formal start, broken briefly with a specific meal), Sandhya Arghya (sunset river offering), and Usha Arghya (sunrise river offering, closing the fast).
Riverbanks and ghats are decorated and prepared in advance, with devotees carrying elaborate offering baskets (soop) filled with fruits, sugarcane and traditional sweets to the water's edge for the sunset and sunrise rituals.
Thekua, a dense, sweet wheat and jaggery cookie, is the festival's defining food, specifically valued for providing sustained energy through the demanding waterless fast.
2026 dates: Nahay Khay Nov 13, Kharna Nov 14, Sandhya Arghya (main day) Nov 15, Usha Arghya Nov 16.
