Chaiti Chhath Festival Officially Begins Today in Mithila Region
8 Chaitra, Jaleshwar – From today, the Chaiti Chhath festival has officially commenced across the entire Mithila region, including Mahottari district in Nepal and parts of India.
Observed with various religious rituals over four days, the festival has begun in the Terai plains covering districts such as Mahottari, Dhanusha, Siraha, Saptari, Sunsari, Morang, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, and Parsa, encompassing the whole Mithila region.
In Mahottari, Chaiti Chhath is celebrated with great enthusiasm around numerous ponds, lakes, and notable rivers like Bighi, Rato Marha, Jangaha, Ankusi rivers, and canals in both urban and rural areas including Jaleshwar, Matihani, Suga, Gaushala, Pipara, Samsi, Bardibas, among others.
Kameshwar Pathak, priest of Baba Jaleshwarnath Mahadev in Jaleshwar Municipality–1, explained that this festival particularly promotes interest in truth and non-violence while inspiring compassion towards all living beings. According to Pathak, the worship of the sun in this festival is unique as it venerates both the setting and rising sun, making it the only festival in the world with such a custom.
Chaiti Chhath is celebrated with reverence, invoking blessings for family happiness, peace, prosperity, good health, freedom from diseases, and fulfillment of various wishes. Devotees gather at ponds, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs during the festival.
The first day of the four-day festival (today) Sunday involves the devotees bathing to purify and strengthen their bodies. The second day (tomorrow), Monday, is observed as Kharna when devotees fast and during the night perform rituals inviting the Chhath deity’s arrival, worshipping the family deity, and consuming arwa arbhain, a preparation made without salt.
On the third day, Tuesday (Shashthi), in the evening, devotees carry offerings such as wheat and rice ground in mortar and pestle into various sweets like Thakuwa, Bhuswa, Khajuriya, Perukiya, along with fruits and seasonal vegetables while singing folk and devotional songs as they proceed to the Chhath ghats at designated water bodies.
During the Tuesday evening ritual, devotees enter the water to offer the evening arghya (offering) to the setting sun, applying sandalwood paste and vermilion on their foreheads and hands, presenting akshata flowers and other ceremonial items in turn. On the following Wednesday morning, the festival concludes when devotees return to the ghats to offer arghya to the rising sun.
According to the Mahabharata, Draupadi and the Pandavas worshipped Surya Dev during their period of exile, which coincides historically with their residence in the region of the Kirat king of Mithila. Folklore holds that this marks the inception of the Chhath festival. The Surya Purana mentions that the tradition of Chhath vrat was first observed by Anusuya, wife of the sage Atri, who attained steadfast fortune and true love, marking the beginning of this longstanding custom.
Chhath is not only a religious event but also a symbol of social harmony, celebrated by Hindu devotees and the Muslim community alike. Traditionally, 70 types of offerings are made during the festival; however, it is believed that even those who offer fewer items, such as a modest amount of rice, are favored by the deities.