Stand on a riverbank in Bihar at dawn on the morning of Chhath, and you will see something that stays with you. Thousands of people stand waist deep in cold water, facing the rising sun, arms raised, many having fasted without even water for more than a day. There is no priest leading them, no temple, no idol. There is only the sun, the river, and a devotion so disciplined it humbles everyone who witnesses it. ## The worship of the sun Chhath Puja is dedicated to Surya, the sun god, and to Chhathi Maiya, regarded as a form of the divine mother and associated with Surya's sister. It is one of the only festivals where the deity worshipped is visible to all, the sun itself, the source of life, light and energy on earth. The festival falls on the sixth day after Diwali, in the month of Kartik, which gives it its name: chhath means six. It is the great festival of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Mithila region of Nepal, and it travels wherever people from those lands have gone. ## Four days of rigour Chhath is among the most demanding observances in all of Sanatan dharma, kept mostly by women, and the vrati who keeps it follows a sequence of four days. It begins with Nahay Khay, a day of bathing and a single sattvic meal. The second day is Kharna, a day of fasting that ends with a small evening meal of kheer and roti, after which a fast without food or water begins that will last around thirty-six hours. The third day brings the Sandhya Arghya, the offering made to the setting sun, standing in water, with a basket of fruit, sugarcane and the special thekua. The fourth morning brings the Usha Arghya, the offering to the rising sun, after which the long fast is finally broken. The two arghyas hold the festival's deepest idea. The setting sun is honoured first, and only then the rising one. The tradition that thanks the sun as it goes down, before welcoming it as it returns, teaches gratitude for endings as much as for beginnings. ## A festival without intermediaries What strikes everyone about Chhath is its purity and its equality. There is no priest. The vrati performs the worship directly. There is no idol, only the living sun. The offerings are simple foods made at home with great care for cleanliness. This directness is part of its power. Rich and poor stand in the same river, perform the same rite, offer the same fruit to the same sun. Few festivals dissolve distinction so completely. It is devotion stripped to its essentials: a person, the source of life, and a fast kept out of love and thanksgiving, often for the wellbeing and prosperity of the family and children. ## Keeping it with respect If you keep Chhath, you already know its discipline is not to be taken lightly, and that the long fast demands real strength. As with every vrat, health must come first; the rigour is a tradition of devotion, never a test to endure at the cost of the body. And if you only ever witness it, go to the ghat at dawn once. Watch the arghya offered to the rising sun by people who have fasted through the night. It will teach you more about faith than many books. ## Related reading - [Diwali: The Festival of Lights, Explained](/sanatan-katha/diwali-lakshmi-puja) - [Surya Namaskar: Beyond Exercise, A Complete Sadhana](/sanatan-katha/surya-namaskar-sadhana) - [Makar Sankranti: When the Sun Turns North](/sanatan-katha/makar-sankranti-significance)