Celebrating spiritual connection with Sun: 4-day Chhath concludes with morning 'arghya'

Patna: The revered four-day festival of Chhath reached its spiritual zenith on Tuesday as countless devotees gathered on the banks of rivers and other water bodies in Patna to offer ‘usha arghya’ to the rising sun.

The poignant ritual, performed as the first rays of the Sun touched the earth, marked the successful culmination of one of the most rigorous and auspicious festivals.The festival, a unique dedication to the Sun god, began with ‘nahay-khay’ where devotees took a holy dip in river Ganga and other water bodies before preparing and having a meal of ‘kaddu-bhat’ (rice and a side of bottle gourd dish). This ritual symbolises the purification of body and soul, preparing the worshipper for the days of ascetic discipline ahead.

The second day, ‘kharna’, involved a full-day waterless fast, broken only in the evening after offering a special ‘prasad’ of ‘kheer’ (rice pudding made with jaggery) and chapatti to the Sun god.

Immediately after this meal, the demanding 36-hour ‘nirjala vrat’ commenced.On Monday evening, throngs of devotees, along with their families and friends, converged on the ghats to perform the ‘sandhya arghya’, transforming the riverbanks into shimmering spectacles.

Devotees stood waist-deep in the water as the Sun set, holding winnowing baskets made of bamboo (soop), laden with fruits, sugarcane stalks and thekua (a traditional sweet), besides a lit earthen lamp among other things.For the concluding ritual of the ‘usha arghya’, devotees returned to the water before dawn. The moment the Sun rose, devotees who had endured the entire night without food or water, offered water and milk to the rising sun, chanting prayers for the health, prosperity and long life of their family members and loved ones.

Following the ritual, devotees break their 36-hour fast, known as ‘paran’, by consuming the ‘prasad’.

The widespread distribution of the ‘prasad’ thereafter promotes community bonding and generosity.For many, the completion of the fast is a deep emotional experience. “My heart is full of peace after completing the ‘vrat’. The devotion is such that it doesn’t feel like I haven’t consumed anything,” said Kiran Singh, a resident of Buddha Colony.

"The strength comes directly from Chhathi Maiya. While standing in the water as you watch the Sun rise, you feel a connection that is beyond words,” she said.Meanwhile, district magistrate (DM) Thiyagarajan SM and senior superintendent of police Kartikeya Sharma expressed their gratitude to all officials and security personnel for the successful organisation of the festival.The DM said that despite challenges like a comparatively higher water level among others, all officials and personnel presented an unparalleled example of excellent crowd and traffic management, besides robust security arrangements. The management and organisation of the festival in completely safe and convenient way was a mammoth task, he added.