Spirituality

Chhath devotees observe Kharna as festival preparations continue

Chhath devotees observed Kharna with fasting and evening worship, Khabarhub reports. The observance comes after the opening day of the four-day festival and includes an offering of rice pudding that family members share.

The festival is dedicated to Surya Dev, the Sun God, and Chhathi Maiya, according to News24. Celebrations are prominent in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, as well as parts of Nepal, Outlook India reports.

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Kharna brings families together for offerings#

The festival began on Friday with a ritual bath and a traditional meal, Khabarhub reports. Devotees also made a commitment to observe the Chhath fast. In Mahottari, The Rising Nepal reports, participants avoid fish, meat, garlic and onions during the four days.

For Kharna, devotees bathe in the morning and fast during the day, according to Khabarhub. After seeing the moon in the evening, they worship Chhathi Maiya and offer kheer, a rice pudding, before eating it as prasad, food offered in worship. Family members also take part and receive the food.

Khabarhub describes a preparation made with milk, sugar and locally grown rice, cooked in a new clay pot over a clay stove. News24 reports that jaggery-based kheer is a Kharna offering in many households, often prepared on an earthen stove in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

After the evening meal, devotees begin an approximately 36-hour fast without food or water, News24 reports. The observance continues until the morning offering on November 16.

Kathmandu and Uttar Pradesh prepare for crowds#

In Kathmandu, 675 ghats, or worship sites, have been prepared in the Guhyeshwori and Gaurighat area, Ratopati reports. Chhath Puja Committee vice-chairman Rajkumar Poddar said 30 sites would be free, while the remaining sites would cost Rs 1,500.

The committee said cleaning and leveling work along the Bagmati River was in its final stage, according to Ratopati. In Mahottari, ponds and rivers were being decorated, and purchases of worship materials had increased, The Rising Nepal reports.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the state transport corporation to run additional buses from Delhi to districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India TV News reports. He also directed officials to arrange police, barricades, divers and boats at major ghats.

Devotees are due to gather at water bodies for an arghya, or offering, to the setting sun on November 15, according to Khabarhub and India TV News. A second offering to the rising sun on November 16 concludes the festival.

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