Go to :  Index File

Chhaath celebrations end

     Patna / New Delhi: Tens of thousands of devotees congregated at the banks of River Ganges and other rivers to pray to the rising sun, as a six-day long Chhaath festival culminated with the last offerings made to the Sun God. Chhaath, which is the only festival dedicated to the Sun God, is widely celebrated by people belonging to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh and symbolises prosperity and considered significant from the fertility point of view. Women held special prayers for the welfare and prosperity of their families by performing a ritual by standing waist-deep in water for at least two hours and offered fruits and flowers to Sun God. "We offer prayers on the ocassion of the Chhaath festival so that all our wishes come true. We offer our prayers to the Sun God early in the mornings as part of the festival," said Poonam Singh, a devotee.

    Chhaath is considered a means to thank the Sun for bestowing the bounties of life on earth as also for fulfilling wishes of believers. A day before the actual worship begins; devotees take a cleansing dip, preferably in the Ganges and bring back some water to prepare the holy offerings. A fast is observed for the whole day and late in the evening, the devotees, after performing worship at home, break the fast.

    On the second day, a 24-hour fast begins. The day is spent in preparation of offerings at home and in the evening, the devotees move to a river's bank (or a waterbody) to make the offerings to the setting sun. Similarly in the national capital, devotees swarmed the banks of the River Yamuna to pray and make offerings to the Sun god. "The ritual is observed for a good lineage and prosperity. It is done for three days...We pray to the Sun God and offer food and water," said Manju Devi, another devotee. On the first day, the devotees eat kheer (condensed milk) and roti (handmade bread) and keep fast for a day and a half. People go to bathing ghats on riverbanks and pay obeisance to both the rising and setting sun during the festival that is celebrated on the sixth and seventh days after Diwali. Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi also offered prayers, but within the confines of her home in Patna . Her husband, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav carried the baskets of the offerings near the water body and helped his wife with the offerings.
-Oct 29, 2006