As part of Chhath festival rituals, devotees across the country offered ‘Arghya’ to the rising Sun on November 8 morning. Devotees at various places in the country gathered at riverbanks and offered Argya on the last day of the four-day festival.
After the holy offering, parents pray to ‘Chhatti Maiya’ for the protection of their children as well as the happiness and peace of their whole family. A large number of devotees can be seen offering ‘Arghya’ to the rising Sun on the last day of festival in Bihar’s Gaya and Patna.
#WATCH | Chhath devotees offer 'arghya' to rising Sun on the last day of festival, in Bihar's Gaya pic.twitter.com/gKB9Nc7SqC
— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2024
Visuals emerged from Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Marina Beach in Chennai where devotees gathered in large numbers to offer prayer to rising sun. In the national capital, devotees offered prayers at a ghat in ITO. A devotee who had gathered with her family at Geeta Colony said that she was excited and content that she could celebrate the entire festival.
#WATCH | Chandigarh | Chhath devotees are gathered at New Lake in Sector 42 to offer prayers to the Sun god on the last day of the festival pic.twitter.com/sWYOUh5Tkt
— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2024
A devotee who had gathered with her family at Geeta Colony said that she was excited and content that she could celebrate the entire festival.
“We celebrated the festival in a very beautiful manner. We are very happy and prayed for the prosperity of our family, relatives and ourselves,” said another devotee. A devotee from Gorakhpur at the Guru Gorakhnath Ghat said that they stay excited for the festival throughout the year and pray and offer food to the Chhath Maa.
“We stay excited for Chhath Puja throughout the year. We fast for the Chhath Maa, take a shower and offer food to Chhath Maa. On the second day, we serve ‘dala’ to our son and pray for the well-being of our children and other half,” said the devotee.
“I have gathered here with my whole family to celebrate the occasion. We are all very excited that we could celebrate the whole festival,” said a devotee who had gathered with her family at Geeta Colony.
In Noida, devotees gathered at the Sector 21 stadium to offer the ‘Surya Arghya’. Chhath Puja is a four-day festival celebrated to offer prayer to the Sun God.
In Patna, people gathered at the Patna College Ghat and Digha Ghat to offer Surya Arghya. Visuals from Kolkata showed a group of women sitting and offering the Surya Agrhya. Visuals also emerged from Ayodhya, Varanasi and Prayagraj where devotees gathered in large numbers at the Ganga Ghat to conclude the Chhath Puja festivities.
#WATCH | Jharkhand: A large number of devotees gather at a ghat in Ranchi to offer 'arghya' to Sun god on the occasion of Chhath Puja. #chhathpuja2024 pic.twitter.com/Ipc42Tyx04
— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2024
The four days are marked as Nahay-Khay on the Chaturthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha, a day of purification, followed by Kharna on Panchami Tithi, Chhath Puja on Sashti, and will conclude with Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi.
In the four-day celebration, fasting is done by worshippers to express gratitude to the Sun God for sustaining life on Earth. The festival is primarily celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Nepal, and by diaspora communities from these regions.
(with inputs from ANI)
