Significance of Ancient Indian Chhath Festival

The ancient Chhath festival is dedicated to the Sun God, Surya, and Chhathi Maiya - the nature Goddess. It is mentioned in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. According to legend, Sita Mata fasted and observed Surya Shashthi, and Chhath Puja was performed. In the Mahabharata period, Kunti is said to have performed Chhath Puja after she and the Pandavas escaped from Lakshagriha. The Pandavas also observed the ritual to seek victory in the Kurukshetra War. It is also believed that Karna, the son of Surya and Kunti, was conceived after Kunti performed Chhath Puja. Draupadi is said to have observed the puja to help the Pandavas win the Kurukshetra War.

Thus,Chhath Puja is an ancient Hindu festival native to eastern India and Nepal’s Mithila region. Today, it is celebrated across many Indian states and by diaspora communities in countries such as the United States, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Mauritius, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

The four-day festival takes place around six days after Deepavali, on the sixth day of the lunar month of Kartika in the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat). This is why it is also called Surya Shashthi Vrata. In 2026, the festival will be observed from 13 to 16 November. Its rituals span three nights and four days and include holy bathing, fasting, abstaining from water as a devotional vow, standing in water, and offering prasada (food offerings) and arghya to the rising and setting Sun.

In Haryana, Chhath is celebrated on a large scale at Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra. During the festival, devotees pray to Surya to express gratitude for the blessings of life on Earth and to seek the fulfilment of personal wishes. Grand arrangements have been made at the historic Brahma Sarovar for the 16th Chhath Mahotsav, organized under the guidance of the Purvanchal Samaj Sabha Haryana and related community groups. Thousands of devotees and families from districts across Haryana are gathering at the decorated ghats of Brahma Sarovar with special accommodation in local dharamshalas for pilgrims coming from outside Kurukshetra. Large-scale bhandaras and Traditional Chhathi Maiya devotional songs and a grand maha-aarti are planned through the night.

Chhath Festival Poem

The golden Sun ascends to wake the day,

The source of life and warmth to every field.

We bow to light that guides our weary way,

And makes the earth its heavy harvest yield.

To set of sun we offer first our plea,

With humble heart for cycles slow and deep.

In decline’s grace a sacred truth we see,

As time must rest before it wakes from sleep.

We call on Chhathi Maiya, nature’s hand,

To guard the kin and bless the young with breath.

With waterless strict fasting on the land,

We weave our life in nature’s rhythmic path.

In clay and bamboo, simple fruits we bring,

To praise the sun and every living thing.