Chhath Puja 2026

Chhath Puja is a deeply revered observance of Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh, in which devotees worship Surya Dev (the Sun God) and Chhathi Maiya over four days. It takes place from the Chaturthi (fourth day) to the Saptami (seventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

Puja Vidhi

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Vratis (Parvaitin): Mainly women, though men also keep it, observe this demanding fast for the health, long life, and prosperity of their children and family.
• Women Desiring Children: Couples without children also observe this vrat to seek the blessings of Chhathi Maiya for offspring (Santan Prapti).
• Family and Neighbours: The whole household and community help with the preparations and join the offerings at the river bank, as the vrati's strict fast is supported by all.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Day 1, Nahay Khay: The vrati bathes in the early morning and cooks and eats one pure meal during the day.
• Day 2, Kharna (Lohanda): The vrati fasts through the day without food or water, and breaks it once in the evening after sunset, with the Kharna prasad.
• Day 3, Sandhya Arghya: The offering to the setting sun is made at the river or pond in the late afternoon, ending at sunset. Check the sunset time for your city on this page.
• Day 4, Usha Arghya and Parana: The offering to the rising sun is made at the river at sunrise, and devotees reach the ghat in the dark before dawn (Brahma Muhurta). Check the sunrise time for your city on this page. The fast is broken afterwards.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Chhathi Maiya)

Long ago, there lived a king named Priyavrat and his queen Malini. They had everything but a child, and this sorrow weighed heavily on them. The king invited the sage Kashyap, who performed a yagya for a son and gave the queen the sacred kheer to eat.

In due time, the queen bore a son, but the child was born lifeless. Heartbroken, the king carried the body to the cremation ground and, overcome by grief, was ready to give up his own life. Just then, a radiant Goddess appeared before him, seated on a divine chariot. She said: "I am Shashthi, the one who protects all children. Worship me with devotion and spread my worship among your people, and your wish will be fulfilled."

The Goddess touched the child, and he came back to life. Filled with joy and gratitude, the king returned to his kingdom and announced the worship of Devi Shashthi to everyone. Since that day, devotees have observed the Chhath fast and worshipped Chhathi Maiya and the Sun God for the health and long life of their children.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the preparations:

• Bamboo Baskets: A Soop and Daura (bamboo winnowing tray and basket) for the offerings
• Tilak & Sacred Powder: Sindoor, Roli, Akshat (unbroken rice grains), and turmeric
• Lamps & Lights: A clay or brass Diya with Ghee and cotton wick, incense sticks, and camphor
• Fruits & Produce: Whole coconut, bananas, sugarcane stalks with leaves, pomelo, lemon, and sweet potato
• Food Offerings (Naivedya): Thekua (wheat and jaggery sweet), Pua, and rice laddus, made without salt, onion, or garlic
• Kharna & Cooking Items: New earthen stove (Chulha) with mango wood, new utensils, rice, jaggery, milk, wheat flour, and bottle gourd (Lauki) with chana dal for Nahay Khay

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Nahay Khay (Day 1)

1. Wake up early, bathe in a river or pond (or at home with Gangajal added to the water), and wear clean clothes.
2. Clean the house and kitchen thoroughly, and cook with fresh, pure ingredients on a new or cleaned stove.
3. Take a Sankalp (solemn vow) with water in your palm: "O Chhathi Maiya and Surya Dev, I begin this vrat for the health, long life, and wellbeing of my children and family. Grant me the strength to keep it with pure devotion."
4. Prepare a simple meal of rice, chana dal, and bottle gourd cooked in ghee with rock salt (Sendha Namak). Offer it first to the Sun God, and then the vrati eats it before other family members.

Step 2: Kharna (Day 2)

1. Observe the fast through the day without any food or water, remaining calm and prayerful.
2. In the evening, bathe and prepare Kharna prasad of kheer made of rice and jaggery, rotis, and bananas on a clean earthen stove.
3. Offer the prasad to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya with a lit Diya and a short prayer.
4. The vrati eats the prasad in quiet, and then distributes it among family and neighbours. After this, the strict 36-hour fast without water begins.

Step 3: Preparing the Offerings (Day 3, Daytime)

1. Prepare the Thekua with wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee, and wash all the fruits in fresh water.
2. Arrange the Thekua, coconut, bananas, sugarcane, and other fruits in the bamboo Soop and Daura, and light a Diya in them.
3. Cover the baskets with a clean cloth and carry them on the head to the river bank or pond, with the family walking along, singing Chhath songs.
4. Place the sugarcane stalks upright and arrange the Diyas on the ghat.

Step 4: Sandhya Arghya (Evening of Day 3)

1. Stand in the river or pond water at the ghat, facing the setting sun with the baskets in front.
2. Offer Arghya (water, milk) to the setting sun by pouring slowly from a vessel, while the baskets are raised in the hands of the family members.
3. Pray to Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya, and sing the traditional hymns and songs as the sun sets.
4. Return home. In some families, the Kosi (a ring of earthen lamps under a canopy of sugarcane) is lit and songs are sung through the night until the morning offering.

Step 5: Usha Arghya (Morning of Day 4)

1. Return to the ghat before sunrise with the baskets, and light the Diyas again.
2. Stand in the water, facing east, and wait for the first rays of the rising sun in prayer.
3. Offer Arghya (water, milk) to the rising sun as the sun comes up, praying for the wellbeing of your children and family.
4. Share some of the prasad with the family and others gathered at the ghat.

Step 6: Seeking Blessings and Breaking the Fast (Parana)

1. Touch the feet of the elders in your family to seek their blessings (Charan Sparsh).
2. Distribute the Thekua and fruits as prasad among family members, neighbours, and friends.
3. Break your fast first with a little water or ginger and a piece of prasad, and then eat a simple sattvic meal without onion or garlic.

Chhath: Nahay Khay

Puja Vidhi

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Vratis (Those Keeping the Vow): Both women and men keep the Chhath vrat (the one who keeps it is called the Vrati), and it is kept at home without a priest, beginning on this day with a bath and one pure meal.
• The Family: The whole household shares in the day: the home is cleaned, and the family eats the same satvik food after the Vrati has eaten.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Bath: Taken before sunrise, and no water is drunk before it. Check the sunrise time for your city on this page.
• Bhog and Meal: The cooked food is offered to Surya as Bhog (the first offering of food) in the afternoon, and only then does the Vrati eat the day's one meal, with the family eating after.

About the Festival

Nahay Khay is the first day of Chhath, a much-loved observance of Bihar and Purvanchal in which families worship Surya (the Sun God) and Chhathi Maiya. On this day the Vrati bathes and eats one pure meal of kaddu and rice, and the vrat begins. It takes place on the Chaturthi (fourth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Raja Aila and the Pond at Deo)

In the Satya Yuga, Raja Aila, a son of Ikshvaku and an exiled king of Ayodhya, went hunting in Devaranya, the forests of Deo. He suffered from leprosy (Kushtha Rog). Coming to an old pond there, he quenched his thirst and bathed in its water, and his leprosy was cured.

Amazed, he later dreamt that Aditya, the Sun, lived in that very pond in the form of the three gods. In the pond he found the images of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Raja Aila built a Sun temple at Deo and installed the images there as Aditya in his triple form. Since that day Surya has been worshipped at Deo, and in time that worship grew into Chhath.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Bath & Clothes: Gangajal for the bath water, and new or clean clothes
• Rice & Dal: Arwa rice (unboiled, sun-dried rice) and Chana Dal
• Gourd: Kaddu (Lauki, bottle gourd)
• Salt & Fat: Sendha Namak (rock salt), and Ghee or mustard oil
• Fuel & Vessels: A clay Chulha (stove), mango wood, and bronze or clay vessels

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Cleaning, Bath and Sankalp (Before Sunrise)

1. Clean the whole house and its surroundings, and make it pure.
2. Cut your nails and wash your hair well with clean water.
3. Bathe before sunrise in the Ganga, a river that flows into it, or a pond, taking no water before the bath. If you have no river nearby, bathe at home with Gangajal added to the bath water.
4. Wear new or clean clothes and take the Sankalp (solemn vow) to keep the Chhath vrat.

Step 2: Gangajal and Worship of Surya

1. If you bathed at a river, bring Gangajal home with you for the cooking.
2. Offer water to Surya and worship him.

Step 3: Cooking the Meal

1. Cook on a clay Chulha, burning mango wood, in bronze or clay vessels.
2. Cook arwa rice, Chana Dal and a Kaddu vegetable in Ghee or mustard oil, seasoned only with Sendha Namak.
3. Use no onion or garlic, and cook nothing fried, such as Puri or Paratha.

Step 4: Bhog and the Meal (Afternoon)

1. Offer the cooked food to Surya as Bhog before anyone eats.
2. The Vrati eats first, taking this salted meal once in the day.
3. The family then eats the same satvik food.

Chhath: Kharna

Puja Vidhi

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Vratis: Women and men who have taken the Chhath vow keep the Kharna fast, and no priest is needed. Once taken, the vow is kept year after year, and it is set aside only in a year when a death has occurred in the family.
• Family and Neighbours: The family leaves the house while the vrati eats in silence (Ekant), then receives the Kharna prasad, and neighbours are invited to share it.

When Should This Be Performed?

• The Day-long Fast: The fast is kept through the day, without even a drop of water, until sunset.
• Kharna Puja: The datun, the bath, the cooking and the offering are done in the evening, after sunset. Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• Midnight: The vrati makes the thekua for the arghya at midnight, after the 36-hour fast has begun.

About the Festival

Kharna, also called Lohanda, is the second day of the four-day Chhath festival, a much-loved observance of Bihar and Purvanchal in which Surya and Chhathi Maiya are worshipped. It takes place on the Panchami (fifth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. On this evening Chhathi Maiya is believed to enter the home.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Aditi and Chhathi Maiya)

Long ago, in the first war between the gods and the asuras, the gods were defeated. Then Aditi, the mother of the gods, went to Devaranya, the forests of Deo in Bihar, and worshipped Chhathi Maiya, praying for a radiant son.

Pleased with her devotion, Chhathi Maiya granted her a son endowed with every virtue. Aditi's son was Aditya in the form of the three gods, and he gave the gods victory over the asuras.

It is said that from that time the place was named Deo, after Devasena Shashthi Devi, and the custom of Chhath began. Since that day, Chhath has been kept in honour of Chhathi Maiya and Surya.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the evening puja:

• Chulha & Fuel: A new clay Chulha (hearth) and mango wood
• Rasiyav (Kheer): Arwa rice (unboiled, sun-dried), Gur (jaggery), milk, and a new brass vessel, with no salt and no sugar
• With the Kheer: Roti and bananas
• For the Offering: A banana leaf
• Datun & Bath: A twig of mango wood for the Datun (tooth-cleaning twig), and clean water for the bath
• For the Thekua and Rest: Wheat flour, Gur, Ghee and a carved wooden mould for the Thekua, and a blanket or sheet to sleep on the floor

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: The Day-long Fast

1. Keep the fast through the day, taking not a drop of water before sunset.
2. Do not take salt or any tamasic food on this day.

Step 2: Datun and Bath (Evening)

1. In the evening, clean your teeth with a Datun made from a mango twig.
2. Bathe and wear clean clothes.

Step 3: Preparing the Hearth and the Rasiyav

1. Make a new clay Chulha and burn only mango wood in it.
2. In a new brass vessel, cook Rasiyav, a Kheer of rice, Gur and milk, using no salt and no sugar.
3. Make Roti along with the Kheer.
4. The women of the house sing traditional songs while cooking.

Step 4: Offering to Surya and Chhathi Maiya

1. Place the Kheer, the Roti and a banana on a banana leaf.
2. Offer the Naivedya (food offering) to Surya and Chhathi Maiya, remembering them with devotion.

Step 5: Eating in Ekant

1. The vrati eats the Kharna prasad alone, in the same room, in silence (Ekant).
2. The other members of the family go out of the house, so that no sound is heard.
3. If a sound reaches the vrati while eating, the vrati must leave the food.

Step 6: Sharing the Prasad and Beginning the 36-Hour Fast

1. Share the prasad with the family, friends, relatives and neighbours, who may be invited beforehand.
2. From this moment the vrati begins the 36-hour nirjala fast (a fast without food or water).
3. At midnight, the vrati makes the Thekua for the arghya, pressing the dough of wheat flour, Gur and Ghee on the carved wooden mould.
4. Sleep on the floor, on a blanket or sheet.

Chhath Puja (Sandhya Arghya)

Puja Vidhi: Bihar and Purvanchal (Sandhya Arghya)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Vratis: Women and men both keep the Chhath vow, fasting for the wellbeing of their son, husband and daughter. In many families the vow is kept every year and passed on to a married woman of the next generation, and it is not kept in a year of a death in the family.
• The Whole Family: The family prepares the day together, and a man of the house carries the offerings to the ghat. No priest is needed for this worship.
• Devotees with a Mannat: Those who made a vow for a wish fulfilled, such as a child (Mannat), fill the Kosi on the night of the Sandhya Arghya.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Preparation and Fast: The prasad is made at home during the day, while the nirjala fast (without even water) that began at Kharna continues.
• Going to the Ghat: The family sets out for the ghat in the evening, carrying the offerings.
• Sandhya Arghya (Sunset): The Arghya to the setting sun is offered standing in the water, from shortly before sunset until the sun sets. Check the sunset time for your city on this page.
• Night: The Vrat Katha is heard or read, songs are sung, and the Kosi is filled. Many vratis stay at the ghat all night.

About the Festival

Chhath is a deeply revered North Indian observance in which devotees fast and worship Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi), standing in the water of a river or pond. It is kept over four days: Nahay Khay (the holy bath and the first pure meal), Kharna (the day-long fast broken with kheer, which begins the 36-hour nirjala fast), Sandhya Arghya (the evening Arghya) and Usha Arghya (the morning Arghya that ends the fast), from the Chaturthi to the Saptami of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. This page is for the Sandhya Arghya, which takes place on the Shashthi (sixth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of King Priyamvad and Devi Shashthi)

Long ago there lived King Priyamvad, whose queen Malini had no child. They tried every remedy, but none of them worked. At last Maharshi Kashyap held a yajna for them, and the kheer that remained after the offerings was given to the queen.

The queen conceived, but the son she bore was dead. Overcome with grief, the king carried the body to the cremation ground and resolved to give up his own life there.

Then a goddess appeared before him, the manasa putri (mind-born daughter) of Brahma. She said to him: "I am born of the sixth part of the root nature of creation, and my name is Shashthi. Worship me, and inspire others to worship me, and you will be freed of your grief."

The king kept the vrat of Devi Shashthi on the Shashthi of the Shukla Paksha in Kartik, wishing for a son, and a son was born to him. Since that day, Devi Shashthi, Chhathi Maiya, has been worshipped.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the evening puja:

• Daura & Soop: A bamboo Daura (basket) and a bamboo Soop (tray)
• Prasad: Thekua (made of wheat flour, Gur and Ghee), Kasar (rice laddu, also called Kachvaniya), and Coconut
• Fruit & Produce: Sugarcane with its leaves, banana, large lemon (Gagal), Suthni, sweet potato, turmeric and ginger plants, radish, Singhara, pineapple, and seasonal fruit, all whole and uncut
• Arghya & Ghat: A copper or brass Lota, milk, water, Gangajal, and clay from the river for the mound of Chhath Mata (Chaura)
• Lamps & Tilak: New Diyas with new wicks, Ghee, Dhoop (incense), Sindoor, Roli, Paan and Supari
• For the Kosi (for those with a mannat): An odd number of sugarcanes, a clay elephant, a clay pot, a red cloth, and twelve or twenty-four Diyas

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: The Fast and the Prasad

1. Keep the Nirjala fast through the day and the night, taking no water. This is the 36-hour fast that began at Kharna.
2. Wear new, unstitched clothes: a saree for women and a dhoti for men. Married women wear orange Sindoor from the nose to the parting.
3. Make the prasad at home with the whole family: Thekua of wheat flour, Gur and Ghee pressed on a carved wooden mould, and Kasar. Use no salt, onion or garlic.
4. Put the prasad and fruit in the Daura and keep it in the Devkari (the puja room of the house).

Step 2: Packing the Daura and Going to the Ghat

1. In the evening, place the Soop with a coconut, five kinds of fruit and the puja items in the Daura. Offer all the fruit whole and uncut.
2. A man of the house lifts the Daura with his hands and carries it on his head to the ghat.
3. The women walk singing Chhath songs such as "कांच ही बांस के बहंगिया, बहंगी लचकत जाय" (Kanch Hi Bans Ke Bahangiya) and "चला भाऊजी हाली हाली, सुरुज देखहिहें लाली" (Jai Chhathi Maiya).

Step 3: Preparing the Ghat (Before Sunset)

1. A family member builds a platform at the ghat, and the vrati sits there.
2. Make the Chaura of Chhath Mata from the river clay, place the items on it, offer the coconut and light a Diya.
3. In some places five sugarcanes are planted in the water, their leaves tied together and a saree hung on them, and Surya is worshipped from behind it.

Step 4: The Sandhya Arghya (Sunset)

1. Shortly before sunset, enter the water with the items, up to your waist.
2. Offer the Arghya to the setting sun: take milk, Gangajal and water in the copper or brass Lota, raise it in both hands above your forehead, and pour it in a stream toward the sun.
3. Raise the Daura or Soop in both hands toward Surya Dev.
4. Then make five Parikramas (circuits) in the water.

Step 5: The Katha and the Songs (Night)

1. Many vratis stay at the ghat all night. Others return home singing and place the items in the Devkari.
2. During the evening worship of Chhathi Maiya, hear or read the Vrat Katha of King Priyamvad given above.
3. Sing the Chhath songs through the night, such as "केलवा जे फरेला घवद से, ओह पर सुगा मेड़राय" and "मारबो रे सुगवा धनुख से" (Marbo Re Sugwa).
4. A vrati keeping the vow for the first time sings "पहिले पहिल हम कईनी, छठी मईया व्रत तोहार" (Pahile Pahil Chhathi Maiya).

Step 6: Filling the Kosi (For Those with a Mannat)

1. In the courtyard or on the roof, make a canopy of an odd number of sugarcanes around the basket.
2. Tie a red cloth with Thekua and fruit at the top. Mark a clay elephant with Sindoor, set a clay pot on it, and fill the pot with fruit, Thekua, Suthni, radish and ginger.
3. Light twelve or twenty-four Diyas around it, and sing songs.
4. Offer Dhoop and perform a small havan.

Step 7: The Fast Continues

1. Do not eat or drink through the night. Sleep on the floor.
2. If the fast is broken by mistake, bathe, light a Diya before Chhathi Maiya, ask her forgiveness, and give Daan (charity).
3. The fast ends only after the Usha Arghya to the rising sun the next morning.

Puja Vidhi: Mithila and Madhesh (Sajhuka Arakh)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• The Vrati: Most often the senior woman of the house takes the vow, though anyone may keep it and men observe it too, seeking the blessings of Surya and Shashthi (Chhathi) Devi (Vrati).
• The Family: The whole family goes with the vrati to the ghat, singing devotional and folk songs along the way.

When Should This Be Performed?

• The Fast: Kept all day without food or water (Nirahar and Nirjala).
• Sandhya Arghya (Sajhuka Arakh): The vrati worships the setting Sun at the ghat until it sets. Check the sunset time for your city on this page.
• Night Vigil: Many stay at the ghat all night (Jagram) with songs, music and plays.

About the Festival

Sajhuka Arakh, also called Sanjhiya Ghat, is the evening arghya of Chhath, a much-loved observance of Mithila and the Madhesh in which the vrati stands in the water and worships the setting Sun. It takes place on the Shashthi (sixth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of the Pandavas and Anusuya)

In the Mahabharata, Draupadi and the Pandavas lived in hiding, and during that year of concealment they stayed at the court of King Virata. They worshipped Surya so that their hiding would succeed.

By the power of that Surya puja the hiding succeeded, and the festival began from that belief.

Another account, from the Surya Purana, says that Anusuya, wife of Atri Muni, was the first to keep the Chhath vrat, and that she won unbroken good fortune as a wife (Saubhagya) and her husband's love. Since that day, the custom has spread, and families keep the Chhath vrat.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the evening puja:

• Prasad: Thakuwa, Bhusuwa (Kasar), Khajuria and Perukiya, made from wheat and rice flour
• Fruit and Roots: Radish, carrot, turmeric plant, Bhogate (pomelo), Jyamir, coconut, orange, and banana
• For Raising the Hands: Jyamir, Bimiro, ginger pulled up with its plant, turmeric, and sugarcane with its top
• Baskets and Clay Ware: Dali (basket) for the prasad, a large Dhakki, Nanglo and Koniya (winnowers), Sarwa and Dhakan (clay lids and pots), and a clay elephant
• Tilak & Flowers: Pithar (rice paste), Sindoor, Akshat, and flowers
• Clothes: An unstitched pure cotton Dhoti

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Keeping the Fast and the Food Rules

1. Keep the fast all day without food or water (Nirahar and Nirjala).
2. From Nahay Khay through the festival, do not eat Usina (parboiled) rice, Kodo, Masoor, fish, meat, garlic, onion or Phapar.
3. Maithil women wear an unstitched pure cotton Dhoti.

Step 2: Preparing the Prasad

1. Pound or grind the wheat and rice flour at home in an Okhal, a Jaanto or a Dhiki.
2. Make Thakuwa, Bhusuwa (Kasar), Khajuria and Perukiya.
3. Pack all the items in a large Dhakki, with the prasad kept in the Dali.

Step 3: Going to the Ghat and Worshipping the Setting Sun

1. The whole family walks to the ghat together, singing devotional and folk songs.
2. The vrati enters the water up to the waist and bathes.
3. Worship the setting Sun, Surya, and Shashthi (Chhathi) Devi until the Sun sets.

Step 4: Pithar, Sindoor and Arghya (At Sunset)

1. Put Pithar and Sindoor on both palms, and add Akshat and flowers.
2. Offer the arghya items one after another as Arghya.
3. Lift the Dali holding the prasad in your hands and show it to the Sun.
4. At the time of raising the hands, use the Jyamir, Bimiro, ginger pulled up with its plant, turmeric and sugarcane with its top.

Step 5: The Night Vigil

1. Many vratis stay at the ghat through the night (Jagram).
2. Pass the night with songs, music and plays.

Chhath: Usha Arghya

Puja Vidhi: Bihar and Purvanchal (Usha Arghya)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Vratis: Women and men who keep the Chhath vow (Vrati) end their 36-hour nirjala fast, kept without even a drop of water, on this morning, after the Arghya to the rising Sun.
• Families: The family goes with the vrati to the ghat (the bank of the river or pond), and no priest is needed.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Before Sunrise: Bathe in Brahma Muhurta (the pre-dawn period) and reach the ghat before sunrise, together with your family.
• Arghya to the Rising Sun: The Arghya is offered at sunrise. Check the sunrise time for your city on this page.
• Paran (Breaking the Fast): Any time after the Arghya has been offered.

About the Festival

Usha Arghya is the closing morning of Chhath, a deeply revered observance of eastern India in which vratis worship Surya Dev (the Sun God) and Chhathi Maiya, and on this morning offer Arghya to the rising Sun and then break their fast. It takes place on the Saptami (seventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Sita's Chhath at Munger)

When Rama and Sita returned to Ayodhya after their exile, the sages advised a Surya yajna to free Rama of the sin of killing Ravana, and Rishi Mudgal was invited to guide it. Mudgal sprinkled Gangajal on Sita to purify her.

The rishi then told her what to do: "Worship Surya on the Shashthi of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik." Sita stayed at Rishi Mudgal's ashram at Munger and worshipped Surya there for six days.

On the Saptami, at sunrise, she performed the rite again and received the blessing of Surya. She offered Arghya to the setting Sun in the west and to the rising Sun in the east, and on that rock two footprints facing east and two facing west are marked.

The rock stands in the middle of the Ganga, about three kilometres from Babua Ghat in Munger, and is now the Sitacharan temple. Since that day, those footprints have been worshipped as the feet of Mother Sita.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Bamboo Vessels: Daura (large bamboo basket) and Soop (bamboo winnowing tray)
• Fresh Prasad: Freshly made Thekua, Kasar (rice laddu), and other fresh Pakwan (festive dishes) in place of those offered in the evening
• Fruit and Roots: The same as in the evening, all whole and uncut: coconut, banana, sugarcane with leaves, large lemon (Gagal), Suthni, sweet potato, turmeric and ginger plants, radish, Singhara (water chestnut), pineapple, and seasonal fruit
• Thali for Arghya: Milk, Gangajal, Haldi (turmeric), Supari (betel nut), Akshat, and a Diya
• Arghya Vessel: A copper or brass Lota with milk and water
• For Paran: Pure water and raw milk

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Preparation (Before Sunrise)

1. Wake up in Brahma Muhurta and bathe.
2. Replace the Pakwan offered in the evening with freshly made ones; the roots and fruit stay the same.
3. Continue the nirjala fast; it ends only after the Arghya.
4. Reach the ghat before sunrise, together with your family.

Step 2: Standing in the Water

1. Enter the water at the ghat with your offerings.
2. Stand in the water facing east, towards the rising Sun.

Step 3: Arghya to the Rising Sun (at Sunrise)

1. As the Sun rises, offer Arghya to the rising Sun with the thali holding milk, Gangajal, Haldi, Supari, Akshat and a Diya.
2. Sing or listen to the Chhath song Kelwa ke paat, whose first line is "केलवा के पात पर उगेलन सुरुज मल झांके ऊंके" (The Sun rises over the banana leaf).
3. The song asks, "करेलू छठ बरतिया से केकरा लागी" (For whom do you keep the Chhath vow?), and its verses answer: for a son, for a husband, for a daughter.

Step 4: Ghat Puja and Prayer

1. After the Arghya, perform the ghat puja (worship of the ghat).
2. Parents pray to Chhathi Maiya for the protection of their children.

Step 5: Seeking Blessings and Paran

1. Touch the feet of the elders in your family to seek their blessings before you break the fast.
2. Begin the Paran with a few sips of pure water or a sharbat of raw milk.
3. Then eat a little of the Arghya prasad, such as Thekua, Kheer and fruit.
4. Avoid spicy food at this time.

Step 6: Sharing the Prasad and the First Salted Meal

1. Share the prasad with the family, at the ghat and again at home.
2. Take the first salted meal of the vrat later this same morning.
3. Give Daan (charity) to Brahmins as you are able.

Puja Vidhi: Mithila and Madhesh (Bhorka Arakh)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Vratis: Those who have taken the Chhath vow offer the morning Arghya to the rising sun and end their fast. Most often the senior woman of the house keeps the vow, though the shastra allows anyone (Vrati).
• Family and Friends: The family and friends of the vrati share the dala at home once the fast is ended.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Before Sunrise: Vratis who have stayed at the ghat enter the water from one ghadi (a traditional measure of time) before sunrise.
• Bhorka Arakh: The Arghya is offered to the rising sun at sunrise. Check the sunrise time for your city on this page.
• Paran: The fast is ended after the morning Arghya.

About the Festival

Bhorka Arakh, also called Paran, is the morning Arghya of Chhath, a deeply revered observance of Mithila and the Madhesh of Nepal, in which the vrati offers Arghya to the rising sun and the fast comes to an end. It takes place on the Saptami (seventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Prasad: Thakuwa, Bhusuwa (Kasar), Khajuria, Perukiya, and banana
• Fruit & Roots: Radish, carrot, turmeric plant, Bhogate (pomelo), Jyamir, coconut, and orange
• Arghya: Cow's milk, flowers, and water
• For Raising the Hands: Jyamir, Bimiro, ginger pulled up with its plant, turmeric, and sugarcane with its top
• Tika & Clothing: Pithar (rice paste), Sindoor, Akshat (unbroken rice grains), and flowers; an unstitched pure cotton dhoti for Maithil women
• Vessels: Nanglo and Koniya (winnowers), Sarwa and Dhakan (clay pots and lids), and a large Dhakki

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Entering the Water (Before Sunrise)

1. If you have stayed at the ghat through the night, enter the water from one ghadi before sunrise.
2. Stand waist-deep in the water in your clothes.
3. Take the dali that was shown to the sun at the Sajhuka Arakh (the evening Arghya) into the water again.

Step 2: Calling the Sun in Song

1. Call Surya Dev in song, asking him to appear soon.
2. Sing the dawn songs of Chhath, such as "डोमिन बेटी सुप नेने ठाढ़ छै, उगऽ हो सुरुज देव, अरघ केर बेर" (the Domin's daughter stands holding her Soop; rise, O Surya Dev, it is time for the Arghya).
3. Another dawn song is "सोना सट कुनिया, हो दीनानाथ", in which Deenanath is late today because on the way he met a blind man and gave him eyes, and a childless woman and gave her a child.

Step 3: Offering the Bhorka Arakh (At Sunrise)

1. Repeat the sequence of the previous evening: put Pithar and Sindoor on both palms, add Akshat and flowers, and offer the Arghya items one after another.
2. Offer the Arghya to the rising sun with cow's milk, flowers and water.

Step 4: Paran and the Dala

1. Your fast ends after the morning Arghya, and this is the Paran.
2. Bring the dala of Thakuwa, Bhusuwa and banana home.
3. Eat the dala together with your family and friends.