Chhath Puja 2019: An Ancient Hindu Festival to Offer Prayers to Sun God

Chhath Puja 2019 will be four days (obviously as usual) Hindu festival dedicated to Chhathi Maiya and Lord Surya. It is a festival celebrated in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and the country of Nepal. This festival starts with Kartik Shukla Chaturthi and ends with Kartik Shukla Saptami. Chhath Parv e.g. Chhath Puja 2019 will be observed on Saturday, November 2, 2019, to thank Lord Sun for providing the bounties of life on Earth and seek blessings from Sun God and Chhathi Maiya.

The land of fasts and festivals, India is one of the countries where ancient tradition and cults exist. Chhath Puja 2019 is one of those festivals that has a close affinity with nature. This festival is observed after one week of Diwali that is riverside rituals in which the Sun God is worshipped, giving it the name of ‘Surya Shashthi’. Known to be the country of different traditions, India is deeply rooted in the cultural roots of Vedic Astrology. People in India celebrate every festival with great fanfare, devotion and enthusiasm. Along with the facts, history, significance, let’s read what makes the festival of Chhath Puja different from other festivals.

On this update of Chhath Puja 2019 we are telling you few unknown facts. Many legends are associated with the festival of Chhath Puja. It is believed that in ancient times, this festival was observed by the Pandavas of Hastinapur and Draupadi to regain their lost kingdom and solve their miseries. Devotees chant the mantra from the Rig Veda texts while offering their worship to the Sun God. As per the story, during the age of the Mahabharata, this Puja was first performed by the Surya Putra Karna, ruler of Anga Desh. Legend says that the sages of that era used this method to gain energy directly from the rays of the sun.

It is a four days festival that is observed with strict manners of preparation. So, during the process of fasting, devotees become separate from the main family in order to sustain purity as well as chastity. The food and salt (for devotees) is prepared without onions, salt, and garlic which is followed for four days of fasting.

Chhath Puja 2019: The Rituals of Chhath Puja

Goddess Chhathi Maiya (Chhath Puja 2019), the younger sister of Surya, is worshipped on this day of Chhath Puja. In this festival, devotees observe several puja rituals to seek the blessings from Chhathi Maiya. The puja rituals usually involve in this festival are as follows: standing and offering arghya in rivers or water bodies, facing the sun for long hours, strict fasting (one can't even drink water during the fasting), and also offering prasad to the Sun God at sunrise and sunset.

On the update of Chhath Puja 2019, let us explain you the days involved in this festival as mentioned below:

Nahay Khay (First day)

On the first day, wake up early in the morning and take a fresh bath. After bathing, clean the house and eat vegetarian food to restore a sattvic style of living and refrain your mind, body and soul from vengeful thinking.

Kharna (Second Day)

On the second day, observe a fast for the whole day, which is also called Kharna. On this festival, the devotees are not allowed to drink water in the entire process of fasting In the evening, they can eat fruits, gur ki kheer (jaggery kheer), and chapati full of ghee.

Sandhya Arghya (Third Day)

On the third day, offer an arghya to the Sun God during the Kartik Shukla Shashthi. In the evening, decorate a bamboo basket with thekua, fruits, and rice laddus, after which devotees offer an arghya to the Sun God with their families. Offer water and milk as arghya to the Sun God and worship Chhathi Maiya with a soop filled with prasad. After the worship of Sun God, sing Shashthi Devi songs in the night and the hear the vrat katha to sought peace.

Usha Arghya (Fourth Day)

On the fourth day, offer an arghya to the Sun God. Before sunrise, the devotees go to the riverbank to offer an arghya to the rising sun. Also, devotees seek the blessings of Chhathi Maiya to attain health, wealth & happiness of the entire family. After worshipping the Chhati Maiya, devotees drink raw milk and sharbat and eat a little prasad to break one’s fast, which is also known as Parana or Paran.

Chhath Puja 2019 Muhurat For Indore, India

Chhath Puja 2019: Puja Rituals for Chhath

Get all the puja samagri before the Chhath Puja and offer an arghya to Lord Sun:

• 3 soop made of bamboo or brass, 3 large bamboo baskets, milk, glass and plates
• Red vermilion, rice, coconut, lamp, turmeric, suthani, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables
• Big lemons, pears, honey, paan, whole herd, sandalwood, camphor, caravans, and dessert
• As prasad, take malpua, kheer-puri, thekua, rice ladoos, and semolina pudding.

Chhath Puja 2019: Arghya Vidhi

• Keep the puja samagri in the bamboo basket.
• Put the prasad in the soop and light up a diya or lamp in the soop.
• Then, all the women stand in knee deep water holding traditional soop in their hands
• After that, devotees offer an arghya to the God Sun.

Chhath Puja 2019: Religious Significance of Chhath Puja

Chhath Puja 2019, the festival in which Sun god is worshipped and offered an arghya. The worship of the sun has great importance in the Hindu religion. He is the God of light, hope, power and positive energy. According to Vedic astrology, the Sun God can destroy many diseases and get health, wealth and self-confidence. The giver of life, the Sun god, depicts our conscious mind and represents our free-will and life-force. On this festival, the worship of Shashti Maiya and Sun god is observed for the well-being of the family.

During the sixth tithi of the Kartik Shukla Paksha, the sun is placed in the southern hemisphere of the earth. The ultraviolet rays of the sun collect more than the usual amount and hence, has a direct effect on eyes, stomach and skin. Worshipping and offering an arghya to the Lord Sun on this festival would not harm the person with ultraviolet rays, hence the importance of this festival increases.

Devotees worshipping at the riverbank during the sunrise and sunset has a scientific significance attached to it. During these two timings, solar energy has the lowest level of Ultraviolet radiation, and it is beneficial for the body. Hence, this festival helps to remove all the negative energies and helps in detoxifying your body, mind, and soul.

Chhath Puja 2019: Food During Chhath Puja

In this section of Chhath Puja 2019 update we will tell you about the food (prasad) that is being prepared on this festival. The Chhath Prasad is traditionally prepared with wheat, dry fruits, rice, jaggery, nuts, fresh fruits, coconut and lots of ghee. One thing that you need to keep in mind while preparing the meal during the festival of Chhath Puja is that the food is made completely without onion, garlic and salt.

The devotees who observe Chhath Puja fast are usually women but a large number of men also keep a fast on this festival. They pray for the abundant joy & happiness for their families, and for the well-being of their offspring. People observe this festival with great devotion and this could also be imagined by the fact that Indian Railway announced special trains for Chhath Puja every year to avoid extra festive rushes.

Chhath Puja 2019: Recite Lord Sun Mantra:

You can recite these mantras to appease Sun God and seek his blessings.

ॐ मित्राय नम: / oṃ mitrāya nama:

ॐ रवये नम: / oṃ ravaye nama:

ॐ सूर्याय नम: / oṃ sūryāya nama:

ॐ भानवे नम: / oṃ bhānave nama:

ॐ खगाय नम: / oṃ khagāya nama:

ॐ पूष्णे नम: / oṃ pūṣṇe nama:

ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नम: / oṃ hiraṇyagarbhāya nama:

ॐ मरीचये नम: /oṃ marīcaye nama:

ॐ आदित्याय नम: / oṃ ādityāya nama:

ॐ सवित्रे नम: / oṃ savitre nama:

ॐ अर्काय नम: / oṃ arkāya nama:

ॐ भास्कराय नम: /oṃ bhāskarāya nama:

ॐ श्री सवितृ सूर्यनारायणाय नम: /oṃ śrī savitṛ sūryanārāyaṇāya nama:

Chhath Puja 2019: The Festival of Chhath Puja has 6 Stages of Purity:

Now on this section of Chhath Puja 2019 update let’s talk about the stages of purity during puja.

• Detoxification of body, mind & soul.
• Standing and offering arghya in the water at riverside during sunrise and sunset, so that half of the body should be immersed in the water and half should be out of water for activating the sushumna (channels of energy in the body).
• The process of elevating the sushumna energy level is called Triveni Complex that allows the entrance of cosmic solar energy in the body.
• After that, your Triveni Complex gets activated.
• The devotees get the divine spiritual power (Kundalini Shakti) and transformed into a cosmic transcendental powerhouse by Triveni Complex.
• In this last step of purification of body & soul that makes the body to rejuvenate and trespass the energy into the entire universe.

We hope you liked this article based on Chhath Puja. We wish all our readers a happy Chhath Puja!