Chhath Mahaparva, the folk festival of worship and faith in nature, is starting from today. This four-day festival is associated with divine respect to nature, cleanliness of the environment, importance of river or water source and change of seasons.
when did it start chhath puja,
When did Chhath Puja start? It may be difficult to give an exact answer to this question, because the belief of this festival is linked to a goddess, but in reality only the Sun is worshipped. Sun worship is mentioned in detail in the Vedas and mythological stories, but there is no direct mention of Chhathi Mata. However, in the folk tradition of India which is related to the birth of children, Shashthi Tithi has great importance and the ritual of Chhathi Sanskar is performed on the fifth-sixth day of the birth of children.
Lokdevi of protection of newborn children
Chhathi is a folk goddess, and is believed to protect newborn children. There is mention of Sun worship in both the famous epics of India (Ramayana-Mahabharata). However, it is not the same as today’s form of Chhath Puja. The first story of deluge mentioned in all the Puranas begins with Surya Puja.
Sun worship mentioned in the story of flood
After bathing, when Maharaj Manu offered Arghya to the Sun God by staying in waist-deep water, at the same time a fish appeared in the water of his palm. The fish prayed to Manu to save itself. The same fish was the Matsya incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Sun worship while standing in waist-deep water
Similarly, the Vedic sages have been worshiping the Sun by standing waist-deep in water after bathing. In Ramayana, when Lord Ram and Mother Sita set out for exile, Goddess Sita stood in the waters of the Ganga and prayed for the safety of Ayodhya and her successful exile. Then when he returned, before entering Ayodhya, Mother Sita recited the Surya Vrat performed 14 years ago in the Ganges.
Mother Sita had performed the ritual of Surya Puja
Ramraj was established only six days after his return to Ayodhya on the occasion of Diwali and on this day also Shri Ram kept a fast of his clan’s favorite Sun God. Mother Sita worshiped Surya Shashthi which has been a Vedic ritual. It was through this ritual that he was blessed with two sons in the form of Luv and Kush. In Champaran (Bihar, India) and Madhesh province (Nepal), it is believed that after leaving Ayodhya, Sita took up residence in the Valmiki Ashram, located on the India-Nepal border, in Chitwan district, on the banks of the Narayani (Gandaki) river. At that time, he performed the ritual of Surya Puja in Nepal. Therefore, the belief of Chhath is deep in Nepal also.
Kunti and Draupadi also worshiped Surya
In Mahabharata, there is mention and description of Surya worship by Pandu’s wife and Pandavas’ mother Kunti. He had performed the ritual of Surya Vrat to protect the Pandavas from the deadly threats that were repeatedly coming to them. When the Pandavas, who had escaped from Lakshagriha, reached the river bank at the border of Varanavat village, Kunti stood waist-deep in water and worshiped the Sun God. Kunti says that just as the moon is your friend and is illuminated by your light in the sky, in the same way I keep these five moons of the Chandravansh under your protection.
There is mention of Sun worship by Kunti even before her marriage. It was he who invoked the Sun God with the mantra of Rishi Durvasa and it was with the blessing of the Sun God that he conceived Karna. Sun worship is also mentioned through Draupadi.
Pleased with Draupadi’s worship, Sun God gave her Akshayapatra, in which food never ran out. This Akshay Patra was very useful for Draupadi during the long exile of the Pandavas. Draupadi could take out the food she needed from this vessel every day and till the last time she herself finished eating and washed the vessel, food would continue to come out of it. Once the vessel was washed, food could be obtained the very next day.
Draupadi had observed Suryashashthi fast in Nagdi village of Ranchi.
Draupadi also worshiped Suryashashthi to win the Kurukshetra war. It is believed that Draupadi performed Chhath Puja near a waterfall in Nagdi village of Ranchi. Today in this village, this festival is celebrated near this waterfall instead of the river or pond. It is mentioned in Brahma Vaivarta Purana that Chhathi Maiya is worshiped during Chhath festival. It is said that Chhath Puja was started by the Gahadwal dynasty in the holy city of Varanasi. According to Kashi Khand, the trend of Chhath Puja spread from Varanasi to other parts of the country.
Ancient story of Chhath festival
According to another story, earlier King Priyavrata, son of Manu Swayambhuva, was sad because he had no children. To fulfill this, Kashyap asked him to perform a yagya. After a while, Queen Malini was blessed with a son; However, the baby was born dead. After the stillbirth, the king and his family became despondent. Feeling sympathy for the royal family, Mata Shashthi appeared in the sky. When the king prayed to her, she said: “I am Shashthi Devi, the sixth form of nature. I protect all the children of the world and bless all childless parents with children.” After this, the goddess blessed the lifeless child with her hands, making him alive. Grateful for the blessings of Goddess Shashthi, the king worshiped the goddess. It is believed that after this puja, this festival became a worldwide celebration.
Chhath is also considered as the day of appearance of Sun.
It is also believed that in ancient times, there was an ashram of Rishi Kashyap and Aditi in Buxar region of Bihar. Mother Aditi gave birth to Surya as a son on the sixth day of Kartik. Surya is also called Aditya because he is the son of Aditi. For this reason, Chhath Puja is celebrated as the birthday of Sun and Kartik month is considered a holy month throughout the year. In Munger region, this festival is associated with Sita Maa Patthar (or Sita Charan). It is believed that Goddess Sita observed Surya Shashthi fast in Munger. Sitacharan Temple, situated on a rock in Munger in the middle of the river Ganga, is the main center of public belief regarding the Chhath festival.
Shashthi is the date of sun worship
Chhath festival is basically the festival of worship of Sun, which has a special place in Hindu religion. Among the gods of Hindu religion, Surya is such a god who can be seen in physical form. The main source of Surya’s powers are his wives Usha and Pratyusha. In Chhath, both the powers are jointly worshiped along with the Sun. The first ray of the Sun (Usha) in the morning and the last ray of the Sun (Pratyusha) in the evening are worshiped by offering Arghya to both.
Sun worship continues since Rig Vedic period
Sun worship has been prevalent in India since the Rig Vedic period. Surya and its worship have been discussed in detail in Vishnu Purana, Bhagwat Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana etc. By the medieval period, Chhath became established as a systematic festival of sun worship, which continues till now. Due to the power of creation and maintenance, the worship of Sun started in different forms at different places with the development of civilization, but the worship of Sun as a deity is mentioned for the first time in the Rigveda. After this, it has been discussed prominently in all other Vedas as well as Vedic texts like Upanishads etc. Yasaka, the author of Nirukta, has placed Surya at the first place among the celestial deities.
Personification of Surya and the later Vedic period
In the last period of the later Vedic period, the human form of the Sun started being imagined. Over time, this took the form of idol worship of the Sun. As the mythological period approached, Surya worship became more prevalent. Temples of Sun God were also built at many places. In mythological times, Surya was also considered the god of health. Sun rays were found to have the ability to destroy many diseases. During their research, sages and sages found its special effect on a particular day. Perhaps this was the time of origin of Chhath festival.,
Fast developed in many layers with mythology and faith
Today’s Chhath festival has not emerged from a one-time process or system, rather it has evolved in many layers based on mythology and common people’s belief, rather it should be believed that it is happening every time. Earlier, Chhath festival was limited only to Bihar-Bengal-Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, for which there was no special publicity, but in the last 20 years, it has developed into a great festival of folk faith and has got a different identity.
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