Kathmandu: The Chhath festival, observed as a common cultural symbol in the Tarai region, is being celebrated with religious tradition and much fanfare starting today. This festival, dedicated to the Sun God, involves making offerings to both the rising and setting sun. It spans four days, from Kartik Shukala Chaturthi to Kartik Shukla Saptami according to the lunar calendar.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the festival usually occurs between mid-October and mid-November in the Gregorian calendar. During Chhath, the Sun, which is seen as the god of energy and life-force, is worshipped to promote well-being, prosperity, and progress. Those observing the Chhath fasting perform a morning bath and partake in only a single meal on this day, a practice known as ‘Nahaya Khaya’. Although the Chhath rituals begin on Kojagart Poornima, the major fasting rituals commence from Chaturthi.
On Kartik Shukla Panchami, devotees offer a special rice pudding mixed with molasses known as ‘Kharana’ to the Shasti Mata d
eity and eat it. They abstain from food items mixed with salt and consume only fruits for meals. The main fasting day of the Chhath festival, Kattik Shukla Shasthi, involves rigorous fasting, where devotees refrain from even drinking water. In the evening, worshippers make Arghya offerings to the setting sun, as explained by Anil Singh, who is facilitating the Chhath worship at Guhyeswari Gaurighat Chhath Worship Committee.
This year, the main day of the Chhath festival falls on November 7. In Kathmandu, several areas including Guhyeswari to Gaurighat, Gahana Pokhari, Naag Pokhari, Kamal Pokhari, and different ghats along the Bagmati River at Thapathali, Nakhkhu, and the Bishnumati River have been decorated for the celebrations.
The Chhath Parba rituals include taking a holy bath, fasting, standing, and worshipping the sun for extended periods, as well as offering Prasad and Argha to the rising and setting sun. Chhath is a festival of bathing and worship that involves a period of abstinence and segregation
from the main household for four days. During this period, worshippers observe purity and sleep on the floor on a single blanket. Uniquely, this festival does not involve any pandit (priest), as devotees offer prayers directly to the setting and rising sun, celebrating the cycle of birth that begins with death.