Chhath Puja is celebrated every year on the Shashti Tithi of Shukla Paksha of the month to worship the world-famous Sun God and wishing happy life of children. This year Chhath Puja is will begin on November 18 from ‘Nahay-Khay’ and end on November 21 with ‘Paran’.
Given the coronavirus situation, Delhi and Jharkhand government has banned the devotees from performing the Chhath Puja in public places, and rivers. However, in Bihar, the government has released guidelines for the Puja on Sunday. Issuing a guideline on behalf of the Government of Bihar, devotees have been advised to offer Puja at their homes instead of worshipping visiting rivers and ponds. This time there will be no fair and cultural programmes on the occasion.
The Home Department has asked the district administration to disseminate the directions of the centre and the state government to restrain the spread of coronavirus by coordinating with Chhath Puja samitis, civic units, ward councillors, three-tier panchayat representatives and other dignitaries. According to the guidelines, there is a lot of congestion during Chhath Mahaparva at ghats along the banks of important rivers including river Ganga, that needs to be restrained.
Guidelines issued by the Bihar Government for Chhath Puja 2020:
- All devotees shall follow the social distancing norm avoiding rush at the Chhath Ghats.
- Use of masks is mandatory.
- Devotees above the age of 60 years and below 10 years are restricted from the Ghats.
- During the puja, devotees shall not dive into the river.
- People suffering from fever and other contagious diseases are not allowed in the Ghats.
- The Home Department has clarified that necessary arrangements should be made by the district administration if devotees want to take water for worship from the rivers. However, the use of masks and social dissing should be followed during the process.
Chhath Puja begins from the Nahay-Khay. After bathing in the morning, the vrati women clean the grain for the puja material and dry it by covering it in the sun. The second day of Chhath puja is known as Kharna. On Kharna, devotees observe Vrat for a period of almost 8 to 12 hours. On the last day of the Chhath Puja, devotees visit the riverbank before the sun rises and make offerings to the sun. It marks the end of Paran, that is breaking the 36 hours fast. Then Prasad is shared with neighbours and relatives.
Apart from Bihar, Chhath puja is also observed in Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal as well as the Madhesh region of Nepal. Chhath puja is also called Chhathi, Chhath Parv, Dala, Chhath Dala Puja, and Surya Shashthi.
