Chhath Puja: Four Days, the Rules and the Meaning of the Setting Sun

Among Indian festivals Chhath holds a distinct place for its simplicity, its severity and its purity. It belongs principally to Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Nepali plains, though it is now observed across India and abroad.

Its most striking feature is what it does without. There is no image, no temple, and no priest is strictly required. The observer stands in the water and offers directly to the Sun.

The form of the festival

Chhath is dedicated to Surya and to Chhathi Maiya, held to be the sister of the Sun and the protector of children.

It runs four days, from the fourth to the seventh tithi of the bright fortnight of Kartika. A Chhath is also observed in Chaitra, called Chaiti Chhath, but the Kartika observance is the more widely kept.

Day one, Nahay Khay

On the fourth tithi the observer bathes in a river or tank and the house is thoroughly cleaned.

The meal consists of pumpkin, chana dal and unpolished rice, cooked in rock salt and pure ghee. Garlic and onion are entirely excluded.

The observer eats first, and only afterwards does the rest of the household. The strict discipline of purity begins here.

Day two, Kharna

On the fifth tithi the observer fasts without water through the day.

In the evening a kheer of jaggery and rice is prepared along with roti. Custom calls for cooking on a clay stove with mango wood.

The observer takes this as prasad, and it is then distributed to the family and to visitors.

With that meal the waterless fast of about thirty six hours begins, ending only after the morning offering two days later.

Day three, the evening offering

The sixth tithi is the principal day.

Preparation of the offerings occupies the day. Thekua, made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, is the central item.

Bamboo winnowing baskets and carriers are arranged with thekua, rice sweets, sugarcane, coconut, banana, sweet potato, radish, ginger, turmeric and seasonal fruit.

In the evening the whole family goes to the water. The observer stands in it and offers to the setting sun.

Day four, the morning offering

On the seventh tithi the family returns to the water before dawn.

The observer stands in the water and waits, offering at the first light of the rising sun.

Afterwards the fast is broken with raw milk and prasad. With that the four days conclude.

Why the setting sun comes first

This is the deepest and most beautiful element of Chhath. Almost everywhere, the rising is worshipped and the setting is not.

In Chhath the offering is made first to the sun as it sets, and only afterwards to the sun as it rises. It expresses an acceptance that the same power which grants ascent also grants decline, and that both are received with the same reverence.

It is a considerable philosophical statement for a folk observance.

The rules

Complete purity is required. From the preparation of the offerings until the final offering, the observer does not touch anything considered unclean.

Garlic, onion and meat are excluded for the whole festival.

No one enters the cooking area without having bathed.

The observer wears new clothing, customarily unstitched, meaning a sari or dhoti.

Footwear is not worn on the way to the water or during the offering.

For families abroad

Many families now keep Chhath outside India, using a clean river, lake or a water tank prepared at home.

One technical point matters. The times of the offerings follow local sunset and sunrise, not Indian time. The tithi should likewise be determined by local calculation.

A closing thought

Chhath has no place for display. It asks only for purity, restraint and sincerity.

That is why it is kept in the same form in wealthy households and poor ones. At the water everyone stands together, and the sun gives its light equally to all.