About Chhath Puja
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- 🙏 Deity: Surya (Sun God) and Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi)
- 📅 Chhath Puja 2026 date:
- ⏳ Duration: 4 days
- 🌙 Lunar month: Kartik
- 🗺️ Celebrated in: Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern UP, Nepal Terai, Delhi, Mumbai
Chhath Puja is one of the most ancient and rigorous of all Hindu festivals, rooted directly in the Vedic tradition of Surya worship. Celebrated on Kartik Shukla Shashthi — the sixth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Kartik — it extends over four consecutive days and demands extraordinary physical and spiritual discipline from devotees. Unlike most Hindu festivals centered on temple rituals, Chhath Puja takes place primarily on the banks of rivers, ponds, and lakes, where devotees stand in water for extended periods to offer prayers to the rising and setting sun.
The four days follow a precise sequence. The first day, Nahay Khay, involves ritual bathing in the sacred river and cooking a sattvic meal. The second day, Kharna (Lohanda), is a day of total fasting followed by an evening puja where kheer (rice pudding with jaggery) and roti are offered to the sun and then distributed as prasad. The third day brings the most dramatic ritual — Sandhya Arghya — where thousands of devotees wade into water bodies at sunset, holding bamboo baskets (sup) laden with fruits, sugarcane, thekua, and coconut as offerings to the setting sun. The fourth and final day culminates with Usha Arghya at sunrise, completing the worship cycle.
Chhath Puja is the defining cultural festival of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and the Terai region of Nepal. It transcends caste, class, and gender, drawing millions of devotees to riverbanks in a spectacular collective act of devotion that has no parallel in Hindu ritual life.
Significance of Chhath Puja
Chhath Puja carries layers of significance spanning the Vedic, cosmic, social, and environmental:
- Vedic origins: Surya worship is one of the oldest practices in the Rigveda; Chhath Puja preserves this tradition in its most pure and unaltered form, making it a living Vedic ritual.
- Cosmic significance: The sun is the source of all life and energy (Prana). Worshipping the sun at both sunset and sunrise acknowledges the full cycle of cosmic energy — creation, sustenance, and renewal.
- Chhathi Maiya: The presiding goddess Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi) is the protector of children and the deity of the sixth day after birth; her worship ensures the health and longevity of children and family.
- Environmental message: Standing in natural water bodies and using only natural, unprocessed offerings (sugarcane, seasonal fruits, bamboo) makes Chhath one of the most eco-conscious festivals.
- Social equality: Chhath Puja dissolves social hierarchies — all castes stand together on the ghats, and no priest is mandatory; the devotee directly worships the sun.
- Mythological roots: The Mahabharata mentions Draupadi and Kunti observing Surya puja; Karna, son of Surya, is said to have stood in water offering prayers to his divine father.
Deities worshipped on Chhath Puja
Follow the links to explore each deity’s mantras, stories, and temples on Temples.bio.
Surya (the Sun God) is the supreme deity of Chhath Puja. As the visible, life-giving force of the universe, Surya represents health, vitality, prosperity, and the direct manifestation of divine energy accessible to all. The offering of arghya (water oblation) to both the setting sun (evening) and the rising sun (morning) acknowledges his role as sustainer of all life.
Chhathi Maiya (Shashthi Devi) is the co-deity of the festival. She is a form of Prakriti (Nature) and the goddess who protects newborns and children on the sixth day after birth (Chhath). She is considered Surya's sister in folk tradition. Devotees pray to her for the health, long life, and prosperity of their children and family members. Together, Surya and Chhathi Maiya represent the cosmic life force and the maternal protective energy that sustains human existence.
How to celebrate Chhath Puja 2026
1. Day 1 — Nahay Khay: Take a ritual bath in a sacred river or water body. Cook a simple sattvic meal of chana dal and lauki (bottle gourd) with rice. This is the only meal eaten on this day.
2. Day 2 — Kharna (Lohanda): Observe a complete fast — no food or water — all day. In the evening, cook kheer made with rice and jaggery, and roti on earthen stoves. Offer these to the sun before eating. This prasad is then distributed to family.
3. Day 3 — Sandhya Arghya (Sunset offering): Prepare the bamboo sup (winnowing basket) with offerings: thekua (wheat-jaggery cookies), seasonal fruits, sugarcane, coconut, ginger root with leaves, banana, and rice laddoos. Carry the sup to the riverbank or ghat on your head. Stand in the water facing the setting sun. Offer the arghya — pour water toward the sun using a copper vessel (lota) while reciting prayers and Chhath songs.
4. Day 4 — Usha Arghya (Sunrise offering): Return to the ghat before sunrise. Stand in the water facing east. As the sun rises, offer arghya again with the same rituals. Break the fast by drinking water and eating the prasad (thekua and ginger).
5. Take the prasad home and distribute it to all family members and neighbors.
Rituals & regional traditions
- The offerings (prasad) must be prepared without salt, onion, or garlic — only jaggery, wheat flour, and natural ingredients are used.
- Thekua is the signature Chhath prasad — deep-fried wheat-jaggery cookies molded into shapes, prepared on a wood fire.
- Devotees carry the puja soop (bamboo basket) loaded with offerings on their head to the ghat — a mark of devotion and austerity.
- During Sandhya and Usha Arghya, devotees stand in water (often waist-deep) for extended periods while offering prayers.
- Folk songs called Chhath geet are sung throughout all four days — these ancient Bhojpuri and Maithili songs praise Surya and Chhathi Maiya.
- In Bihar and Jharkhand, entire communities come together — ghat cleaning, lighting lamps, and a massive collective gathering makes it a community event of extraordinary scale.
- In Nepal's Terai region, the festival is observed with equal fervor along the banks of rivers like the Bagmati.
- In cities, especially Delhi, Mumbai, and the Indian diaspora abroad, temporary puja ghats and water bodies are arranged for Chhath celebrations.
Spiritual benefits
- Blessings of Surya Dev for health, vitality, strong eyesight, and freedom from skin and liver diseases
- Protection and long life for children through the grace of Chhathi Maiya
- Purification of mind, body, and spirit through the extreme austerity of the four-day fast
- Removal of sins and negative karma accumulated over multiple lifetimes
- Prosperity, success, and abundance for the entire family
- Strengthening of community bonds and social harmony through collective worship
- Direct connection to Vedic solar energy — pranic vitality and mental clarity
- Fulfillment of wishes (manokamna) and resolution of long-standing life obstacles
Mantras & sacred chants
1. Surya Arghya Mantra
Sanskrit: ॐ सूर्याय नमः, ॐ आदित्याय नमः, ॐ नमो भगवते श्री सूर्याय नमः
Meaning: Om, salutations to Surya; Om, salutations to Aditya (the radiant one); Om, I bow to the divine Lord Surya — chanted while offering arghya water to the sun.
2. Chhath Puja Prayer
Sanskrit: ॐ ह्रां ह्रीं ह्रौं सः सूर्याय नमः
Meaning: This is the Surya Beej Mantra using the seed syllables of solar energy (Hraam Hreem Hraum Sah); it directly invokes the life force of the sun and is considered supremely powerful for health and vitality.
3. Chhathi Maiya Vandana
Sanskrit: देवी षष्ठी नमस्तुभ्यं सन्तानं देहि मे सदा
Meaning: O Goddess Shashthi, I bow to you; please always bless me with the well-being of my children — recited in prayers to Chhathi Maiya for child protection and family prosperity.
Chhath Puja 2026 — FAQs
Chhath Puja 2026 main day (Sandhya Arghya) falls on Sunday, October 18, 2026. The four-day festival begins on October 15 (Nahay Khay) and concludes on October 19 (Usha Arghya at sunrise).
The four days of Chhath Puja 2026 are: Day 1 Nahay Khay (Oct 15), Day 2 Kharna/Lohanda (Oct 16), Day 3 Sandhya Arghya/Sunset offering (Oct 17-18), and Day 4 Usha Arghya/Sunrise offering (Oct 19).
Sandhya Arghya is the evening sunset offering on the third day of Chhath Puja. Devotees stand in river water facing the setting sun and offer arghya — water poured from a copper vessel — along with fruits, thekua, and sugarcane in a bamboo basket.
Thekua is the traditional prasad of Chhath Puja — a deep-fried sweet cookie made from wheat flour and jaggery, cooked on a wood fire without salt. It is shaped in molds and offered in the bamboo sup (basket) during arghya.
Chhath Puja is celebrated to worship Surya (the Sun God) for health, vitality, and prosperity and to seek the blessings of Chhathi Maiya for the well-being of children. It is a Vedic festival that directly preserves ancient Surya worship traditions from the Rigveda.
Chhath Puja is most prominently celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and the Terai region of Nepal. Due to large-scale migration, it is now also celebrated in Delhi, Mumbai, and across the Indian diaspora worldwide.
Yes, Chhath Puja can be performed at home using a large tub, tank, or any clean water body. The rituals — standing in water, offering arghya at sunset and sunrise — remain the same. Many urban devotees observe the fast completely at home.
Chhath Puja and Surya Shashthi refer to the same festival. Chhath is the colloquial name widely used in Bihar and Jharkhand, while Surya Shashthi is the Sanskrit name referring to the Shashthi tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha on which Surya is worshipped.
