Chhath

 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 Puja is an ancient Hindu #festival and the only #Vedic Festival devoted to the Hindu 𝗦𝘂𝗻 God, #Surya and 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝘆𝘆𝗮. #ChhathPuja is performed to thank 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗮 for being the primordial force sustaining life on 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.

🔴 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗮, considered the god of energy and the life-force, is worshipped during the 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 festival to endorse well-being, prosperity and progress. In #Hinduism, 𝗦𝘂𝗻 worship is supposed to cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, besides ensuring the longevity and prosperity of family members, friends and elders.

🔴 🎉 Who is #Chhathi #Maiyya? 🎉

☀︎︎ The Goddess who is worshipped during the famous 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 Puja is known as 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝘆𝘆𝗮 (𝗠𝗮𝗮). According to the legends, 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝘆𝘆𝗮 is an incarnation of one of the forms of goddess #Durga, Devi #Katyayni, who is worshipped on the sixth day of Navratri. She is also said to be the daughter of Lord #Brahma, creator of the world. The legend states that during the creation of the world, Lord 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝗮 divided himself into two parts, one of male and another of female. The part which he divided into females became mother nature and she further divided herself into six parts, out of which the last part was full of motherly love for all beings and was hence called '𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘁𝗶' or '𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶'. 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶 Mata protects the offspring and provides longevity to them.

🔴 𝗨𝘀𝗵𝗮 in the #Vedas is believed to be the consort of 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗮, the sun god. 𝗨𝘀𝗵𝗮 is the term used to refer to 𝗱𝗮𝘄𝗻 – the first light of day. But in the 𝗥𝗶𝗴 𝗩𝗲𝗱𝗮, she has more symbolic meaning. Symbolically, 𝗨𝘀𝗵𝗮 is the 𝗱𝗮𝘄𝗻 of 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 in the individual aspirant. It is said that 𝗨𝘀𝗵𝗮 and 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗮, wives of the 𝗦𝘂𝗻 god, are the main source of the 𝗦𝘂𝗻.

🔴 Both 𝗨𝘀𝗵𝗮 and 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗮 are worshipped along with 𝗦𝘂𝗻 in 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 Parva. 𝗨𝘀𝗵𝗮 (literally-the first morning sun-ray) is worshipped on the last day and 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗮 (the last sun-ray of day) is worshipped in the evening by offering water or milk to the rising and setting sun, respectively.

🔴  🎉 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 and #Karna 🎉

☀︎︎ It is believed that 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 Puja was formally started by 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮, the son of 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝘃. 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗮 Putra 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮 ruled over #Anga Desh (present-day #Bhagalpur district of Bihar) during the #Mahabharat Age. He was a great warrior and fought against the 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗮𝘀 in the #Kurukshetra War.

🔴  🎉 #Pandavas and 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 Puja 🎉

☀︎︎ In a poem, #Draupadi and the 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗮𝘀, rulers of Indraprastha, are described as performing the 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 ritual on the advice of noble sage #Dhaumya. Through her worship of the 𝗦𝘂𝗻 God, 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗽𝗮𝗱𝗶 was not only able to solve her immediate problems, but also helped the 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗮𝘀 to later regain their lost kingdom.

🔴 🎉  𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 and Goddess 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗮 🎉

☀︎︎ 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 was performed by #Sita after returning from Lanka in order to get rid of Brahma killing curse. She not only got rid of the curse but was blessed with #Luv and #Kush as their sons. 

🔴 🎉 Sixth day of the Kārtika month 🎉

🎉 The word 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 is derived from number six in Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Hindi and local dialects and the festival is celebrated on the sixth day of the #Kārtika month of the Hindu lunar calendar. The word is a Prakrit derivation from the Sanskrit word #ṣaṣṭhi, meaning sixth.

🔴 🎉 The Rituals 🎉

☀︎︎ The rituals of 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 festival are meticulous and observed over a period of four days. They include holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water (vratta), standing in water for long periods of time, and offering prashad (prayer offerings) and #arghya (commodity offering) to the rising and setting 𝗦𝘂𝗻.