Chhath Puja

Chhath Puja is one of the most ancient Vedic ceremonies still practiced today—a direct continuation of sun worship described in the Rigveda. Unlike most Hindu festivals that focus on idol worship, Chhath worships the Sun directly in his natural form as he crosses the horizon. The festival spans four days, with the central rituals being the offering of arghya (consecrated water, milk, flowers, and seasonal fruits) to the setting sun (Sandhya Arghya) and the rising sun (Usha Arghya) by devotees standing waist-deep in rivers or ponds.

The goddess of the sixth day—Chhathi Maiya—is identified in some traditions with Usha (the Vedic goddess of dawn), in others with Sashti Devi who protects newborns. The severe four-day fast—nearly 36 hours without food or water before the morning offering—is considered one of the most austere of all Hindu fasts.

According to one legend, Draupadi and the Pandavas performed Chhath Puja on the instruction of Sage Dhaumya to help regain their lost kingdom. Another legend connects it with the warrior Karna, son of the Sun god himself, who is said to have stood in the Ganga offering water to his divine father Surya during long meditative fasts—the first Chhath devotee.