Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, In entire India and many countries of the world including Jharkhand, devotees of this fast and people who worship Sun God celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm on this occasion. Due to its connection with Surya and Shashthi Devi, it is considered a very ancient and Vedic mythological fast. , Offering Arghya to the Sun during Chhath Puja is a way of expressing gratitude towards life. Sun is not the only source of energy. He is also the nurturer of life.
Ashok “Pravrddha”
According to mythological belief, Mother Shashthi Devi, who is worshiped as the provider and protector of children, is considered to be the mental daughter of Lord Brahma. She has also been called Mother Katyayani. They are worshiped on the sixth day of Navratri. According to another belief, she is also considered the sister of Suryadev. This Mata Shashthi Devi is called Chhath Maiya in the local language in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. And her worship in the form of Chhath Maiya is done with rituals every year during Surya Shashthi fast on Kartik Shukla Paksha Shashthi and Chaitra Shukla Shashthi. Surya Shashthi Vrat, celebrated in the name of Lord Sun and Chhath Maiya, is considered to be a very auspicious festival.
In entire India and many countries of the world including Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, devotees of this fast and people who worship Sun God celebrate this festival on this occasion with great enthusiasm. Due to its connection with Surya and Shashthi Devi, it is considered to be a very ancient and Vedic mythological fast. Since Chhathi Maiya is believed to be the sister of the Sun God, during Chhath Puja, along with Chhathi Maiya, Arghya is also offered to the Sun God. By the grace of Chhath Maiya, sister of Suryadev, devotees get happiness, prosperity and children. Detailed descriptions regarding Chhathi Mata and her worship are mentioned in texts like Mahabharata, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Devi Bhagwat Purana, Vishnu Purana, Vedas, Upanishads, Suryashtak, Shiva Mahapurana, Matsya Purana, Varaha Purana etc.
According to belief, Mata Shashthi is the goddess of vegetation and fertility and helps at the time of reproduction and child birth. Helps childless people to have children. That is why she is worshiped as the giver and protector of children. People of South India call Mata Shashthi as Devi Devsena. There are 108 popular names of Mata Shashthi like Indrasuta, Shashti, Putradayani, Mokshadayani, Sukhadayani, Devsena, Vardayani, Shashthi, Baladhishthatri, Chhathi, Shashtansharupaye, Rauna Mata, Maiya and Devi etc. Shashthi Devi is dedicated to progeny, power, lifespan, Arghya, happiness, joy, love, devotion, divinity, God love, beauty, harmony, attraction, time, seasons, couples, marriage, charity, punishment, power, energy, marital happiness, Known as the goddess of creation, preservation, destruction, nature, fetus, pregnancy, longevity, children, motherhood and reproduction, protector of infants, remover of epidemics, diseases, defects, Adishakti, Parashakti, Jagatmata. Their abode is considered to be Skanda Loka, and Manidweep is considered to be Indra Loka.
This festival of Chhath Maiya is considered to be a very difficult ritual and fast of extreme devotion, purity and religiosity, due to which a person gets health, fame etc. in his life. In the texts like Rigveda, Vishnu Purana and Ramayana, Mahabharata etc., there are incidents of worship and worship of Sun God in all the periods. Sun God is included in the Panch Dev group. Therefore, without worshiping the Sun in any small or big puja or havan, there remains doubt in the success of the work. This fast is observed by all men and women. Because Sun is the soul of everyone. Without them it is impossible to create a balance of this nature. Therefore, it is a very big and great festival of worshiping the Sun because of water, light and our lives.
Chhath festival is known by the names Chhath Puja, Chhath Parv, Dala Chhath, Dala Puja, Surya Shashthi etc. The ritual rules of this festival are very strict, and are celebrated over a period of four days. This year in 2024, the festival of Chhath Puja i.e. Surya Shashthi will be celebrated from 5th November to 8th November. Nahay-Khay, the first day of Chhath festival on Tuesday, 5th November, Kharna and Lonhra, the second day of Chhath festival on Wednesday, 6th November, Evening Arghya on Thursday, the third day of Chhath festival on 7th November, and Evening Arghya on Friday, 8th November. Usha Arghya will be on the fourth day.
Many mythological stories are prevalent regarding Surya Shashthi fast. According to a legend, in ancient times there was a king named Priyavrat. His wife’s name was Malini. The king and his wife were very sad as they did not have any children. He asked Maharishi Kashyap for a solution for this. On this, Maharishi Kashyap advised him to perform Putreshti Yagya. The king, wishing to have a child, got Putreshti Yagya performed by Maharishi Kashyap. As a result of this yajna the queen became pregnant. After nine months they were blessed with a child, but at the time of delivery the queen found a dead son. Due to which the king felt very sad. Due to grief over his child, the king decided to commit suicide. But as the king tried to commit suicide, a beautiful goddess appeared before him, and she told the king that she was Shashti Devi. I give people the good fortune of a son. I fulfill all the desires of the one who worships me with true feelings. If you worship me, I will also give you the gem of a son. Following the orders of the Goddess, the king and his wife worshiped Goddess Shashthi as per the rituals on the Shashthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla.
As a result of this worship he was blessed with a beautiful son. From that time onwards the holy festival of Chhath started being celebrated. According to Mahabharata and Puranas, Suryaputra Karna also worshiped Lord Surya regularly. For them, they kept fast and offered Arghya to Lord Surya. Sun God was very kind to Karna. It is believed that the regular puja rituals performed by Karna are currently called Chhath Puja. According to another story, after the Pandavas lost the entire kingdom in the gambling game, Shri Krishna asked Draupadi to observe Chhath fast. When Draupati completed her fast, her wishes were fulfilled and the Pandavas got their kingdom back. There is also a belief that after the victory of Lanka in Tretayuga, on the day of establishment of Ramrajya, Lord Ram and Mother Sita had fasted and worshiped Sun God on Kartik Shukla Shashthi.
On Saptami, at the time of sunrise, the rituals were performed again and blessings were received from the Sun God. From the scientific point of view, a special astronomical change occurs on Shashthi Tithi (Chhath), at this time the ultraviolet rays of the Sun get collected on the earth’s surface in greater quantities than normal. For this reason, the ability to protect humans as much as possible from its possible ill effects is achieved by standing in water and bathing in the sunlight during Chhath Puja. Observing the festival of Chhath Puja protects living beings from the harmful effects of sunlight. Lord Surya is worshiped for the treatment of various types of skin diseases including leprosy.
Offering Arghya to the Sun during Chhath Puja is a way of expressing gratitude towards life. Sun is not the only source of energy. He is also the nurturer of life. During this festival, which connects humans with nature, there is a tradition of thanking them for pleasing them and giving them light, energy and the power to sustain life. This puja is a means of expressing gratitude to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya, who are considered symbols of life, energy and prosperity. This festival is also a symbol of harmony and respect with nature. It inspires to maintain the purity and balance of nature and teaches about climate protection. No kind of contaminated material or pollution is encouraged in its rituals. Therefore, spreading the message of awareness about cleanliness is also an objective of Chhath Puja.