The worship of the Sun, the life force that is believed to bind the Universe together and give energy to all living beings, can be traced back to five thousand years ago.

 

“The culture of worshiping the sun has been in practice amongst the communities and religions of different countries ever since the age of human civilization,” said Dr. Rajendra Bimal, a known literary writer, and cultural expert.

“The devotion to praying to a common energy that serves all, the Sun, gave rise to a Cultural transformation amongst different cultures and religions all around the world,” added Dr. Bimal.

In the Eastern tradition, the worshiping of Chhathi Maiya, the Sun goddess, or the Sun god, comes from thousands of myths and stories. 

In Ramayana, a major Sanskrit epic of the Hindus, Lord Ram, after winning over the kingdom of Lanka, came back to Ayodhya and, along with his wife Goddess Sita, used to pray to the Sun god to take away any kind of sadness to his kingdom and only bring happiness. In Mahabharat, another major Sanskrit Epic, Karna, the son of the Sun god and princess Kunti, used to worship the Sun by standing on a lake or a river. 

Ever since then, the people of the Mithila culture, through the centuries, recite the myth, stories, and wonders of this festival in the form of folk songs while performing the ritual of four days of celebration of Chhath. “Praying to the sun is believed to make all the wishes of a family come true and to bring its light in their lives,” said 52-year-old Rekhakumari Karn, a devotee who celebrates Chhath every year. 

The celebration of this festival has traveled through thousands of years and stands as one of the practices that are still performed unfiltered and unbothered by the major transformation of the lifestyle of people. 

From the beginning, the first day of Chhath is known as ‘Nahaye Khaye’ where the devotees wake up before dawn to take a bath and eat the first ‘pure’ vegetarian meal of the day. For centuries, this day has been a symbol of taking a vow to finish the holy fasting ‘Vrat’ for the next 3 days. On the second day, ‘Kharna’, devotees perform fasting all day as a sign of gaining purity from bath and pure vegetarian food. 

One of the many specialties that have been passed on from generation to generation is the unique delicacies prepared in this festival. ‘Kasaar’ is a sweet made from roasting rice, ‘Thekua’ prepared from wheat flour, caramel and then fried in oil, ‘Bhusuwa’, also prepared from wheat flour and caramel and then molded to a sphere laddu shaped sweet, are some of the many generational delicacies that have survived through the centuries. In the evening, ‘kheer’ (rice pudding) and ‘puri’ are prepared and the fast of the day is broken with this pure evening meal with no salt, garlic, or onions. 

Dr. Bimal added, “the traditional recipes prepared during Chhath are connected to Ayurveda”. Agriculture is a major occupation in Southeast Asia throughout history, everything that is produced on the farm is offered to the god during this festival and is known to carry tons of nutrients and ayurvedic qualities. 

On ‘Sandhya Araghya’, the third and the main day of Chhath puja, devotees go to the edge of a river, lake, or pond called ‘ghat’ with their families in the evening, with fruits, sugarcane, and sweets in a bamboo basket after a day of fasting.

Diyos (oil lamps), candles, smoke sticks are set up in the ghat, and Araghya is performed to the setting sun, Chhathi Mata, and the Vedic Goddess of Dawn. The next morning, ‘Usha Araghya’ before the sun rises, devotees, again, go back to the ghat to offer the morning Araghya, an offering to the gods of the rising sun. 

Also considered as the soul of the Universe, the Sun is a symbol of immortality from the beginning of time. Among the thousands of diyos lit up and floating over the water waves, some go off, some keep burning. “The diyos symbolize the lives of people, some fade away sooner than the others, but the water waves keep flowing, symbolizing immortality,” Dr. Bimal believes.

Ever since the start, passing through the centuries, Chhath has been an eco-friendly festival. It is dedicated to worshiping nature and the environment is always kept in mind. Falling right around the corner at the end of the monsoon, it is said to filter the waters after the season of rainfall. The holy water over which the Araghya is done is sprinkled to all the members of the family and the prasad that is offered after 36 hours of fasting.

The astounding thing about this festival is that it has been one step ahead of the social norms and system through the years. “Chhath stands as a festival of inclusiveness,” shared Dr. Bimal, “It is a festival of integrity, coexistence, life, liberty, happiness”. It is the time where, for centuries, people belonging to all castes and cultures come together in the same ‘ghat’ and worship the sun as one, with no divisions and separation, just a common devotion and prayer to the almighty Sun gods and goddesses.