Why Chhath is so important: Priests are not needed, soup from the Dom's hands, and the Muslim's hands take the earthen stove

Posted on 19th Nov 2020 by rohit kumar

Chhath is the largest folk park in Bihar because it connects the whole society in one way or the other. Everyone's participation is decided. There is no tradition of priesthood in this festival i.e. the Vratis directly connect with the sixth Maiya. God directly connects to the Sun. There is no mantra either. It is the only festival in which, apart from the upper-caste caste, the Hindu-Muslim distance also ends. Every class participates in the Chhath festival with full faith.

 

People of Dom caste make Chhath soup

 

The Dome caste which the society has made untouchable, makes soup, Dalia etc. for Chhath, and all the vratis accept it. In doing so, we also honor them and show our faith in social monotony. The specialty of Chhath is the purity of bamboo-made soup. In this sense, this festival also boasts of eco-friendly thinking in itself. Some people also use brass soup, but most people use bamboo soup. Veena Devi, who comes from Dom caste, says that she has been making soup-Daura etc. since childhood. Preparation for Chhath is done several days in advance. Their entire society is engaged in this work.

 

People from backward castes make earthen stoves

 

The potters are also counted among the backward castes of the society, but they also have a large participation in this festival. Chhath's Prasad, Pumpkin-Bhat, Rasiya-Pudi, Thekua, Kasar-Laddu etc. are made on the clay stove made by them. Such a stove is considered pure.

 

Worship is also done on the stove made by Muslims

 

The belief of Chhath is such that the Hindu-Muslim boundary also breaks here. Every year women of Muslim society also make earthen stoves, which are bought by the devotees happily. Chhath Vrati does not see who made the stove, but rather see whether the stove is made of clay or not.

 

Great feature of Discipline festival

 

The biggest feature of this festival is its discipline. It is considered a festival of self-discipline, from washing the grains properly, drying them with monitoring, and cooking everything with fasting. No lies, no deceit, because the vrat believes that nothing can be hidden from the sixth Maiya. In spite of all, the sixth Maiya has also apologized after the festival.

 

Arghya also descending sun

 

In Chhath, Arghya is offered to Surya and worships Chhath Maiya. The reasoning behind this is that a major part of Prakriti Devi has been called Devasena. Being the sixth part of nature, a famous name of these goddesses is Shashthi. This is the sixth Maiya in the local dialect. The great feature of Chhath is that in this, they only offer water to the rising sun, they also offer arghya to the setting sun. It is a symbol of the spiritual strength of Bihar.

 

Have to bow down to get blessings

 

At Chhat Ghat, no one hesitates to take prasad from any fast. There is also a tradition of taking blessings by touching the feet after taking prasad. In this too, no one is proud that he belongs to a higher caste. Lokparva breaks the ritual wall of Chhath castes. Even if a Muslim does Chhath, a Hindu does not stop him, rather it enriches the world of Chhath's faith.