Jaleshwar (Mahottari): The grand festival of faith and Sun worship, Chaiti Chhath, is being observed this evening across the Mithila region, including Mahottari district, with devotees offering prayers to the setting sun.
The four-day religious festival, which began on Sunday (Chaturthi) in Mithila regions of Nepal and India, is being celebrated with rituals. Today, on the main day (Shashthi), devotees stand in water bodies and offer arghya (ritual offerings) to the setting sun.
On this day, devotees prepare various traditional sweets such as thekua, bhuswa, khajuriya, and perukiya using flour made by grinding wheat and rice in traditional tools. Along with fruits and items like radish, carrot, turmeric roots, coconut, orange, and banana, these offerings are arranged in baskets and carried to Chhath ghats with devotional songs.
In the evening, devotees enter water bodies and worship the setting sun until sunset, offering items one by one with prayers. The festival, which started Sunday, included Kharna on Monday, during which devotees observed a day-long fast and invited the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya.
The festival is being celebrated in various municipalities and rural areas of Mahottari, including Jaleshwar, Matihani, Gaushala, Bardibas, Aurahi, Loharpatti, Ramgopalpur, Balwa, and Bhangaha, as well as nearby rivers and ponds.
According to scholars, Chhath is unique as it involves worship of both the setting and rising sun. It is observed for family well-being, prosperity, health, and fulfillment of wishes. The festival concludes tomorrow morning with offerings to the rising sun.
Historically, references to the festival are found in the Mahabharata, where Draupadi and the Pandavas are said to have worshipped the Sun God. Mythological texts also mention that Anusuya first observed the Chhath fast.
The festival, once limited to the Terai-Madhesh region, is now celebrated in major cities such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bharatpur, Dharan, and Itahari.
