Nature at the heart of Bihar’s vibrant Chhath Puja
As many across the country participate in the sacred rituals of Chhath Puja today, Village Square presents the visual story of the festival.
A woman makes an offering to the rising sun on the auspicious occasion of Chhath Puja. This festival is one of its kind where the rising and setting sun are both worshipped. (Photo by Pranab Basak)
Women make humble offerings to the Sun God and Chhathi Devi as an act of reverence during Chhath Puja. This is a ritual that is carried out twice a year – in the month of Chaitra (March or April) and Kartika (October or November). (Photo by Pranab Basak)
Chhath Puja in Bihar is a sacred celebration dedicated to the sun god. Families gather along riverbanks, offering prayers, and performing rituals, expressing gratitude for life-sustaining energy. Here faith is deeply intertwined with nature. (Photo by Akhilesh Kumar)
Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival historically native to Nepalis and Biharis of the Indian subcontinent, more specifically, the Indian state of Bihar. (Photo by Harshit Mishra)
Chhath Puja is celebrated six days after Diwali, falling on the suklapaskh of the Kartika month. The suklapaskh is the moon’s waxing phase of 15 days, starting on a new moon and finishing on a full moon. (Photo by Raju Das)
An elaborate series of rituals are observed for this festival, mostly involving offerings of food and clothes. (Photo by AR Raj Kumar)
Some women observe a nirjala fast for this festival, meaning they consume no food or water during the time of fasting. The fast is broken with simple but delicious home cooked food such as Bengal gram and boiled rice. (Photo by Pritha Chakraborty)
Two women pay their respects to the Sun God on the eve of Chhath. Women celebrate this festival with songs. (Photo by Sankar Mandal)
A crowd of devotees gathers around the sacred pond of the Sun Temple during the Chhath festival in Bihar. All over the country devotees throng water bodies to carry out rituals associated with the festival. (Photo by Mohammad Sharukh Khan)
Also read: Chhath Puja: How Muslim women contribute in Hindu festivities in Bihar
The lead image on top depicts a woman immersed in a river offering prayers for the wellbeing of her family, during Bihar’s Chhath Puja. (Photo by Debashish Chakraborty)