Hundreds of devotees from across Uttarakhand thronged the riverbanks to perform Chhath puja rituals. They stood in the rivers and other water bodies and offered prayers to the setting sun on Wednesday evening. As per tradition, prayer is offered to the setting sun by the devotees on the third day of the puja. They all take bath by way of cleansing before they begin the puja. The same ritual is followed on the morning of the following day as they offer obeisance to the sun when it is rising.
In Dehradun, devotees thronged along the riverbanks near Rispana Bridge, Tapkeshwar, Maldevta (Raipur) and others in Rishikesh on Wednesday evening. Devotees began reaching the puja venues since 2 pm and performed Chhath puja rituals till 6 pm. The ambiance, electric with devotion and delight, was almost like that of a carnival in Dehradun and Haridwar. Aside from the Parvaitins who are the principal custodians of the tradition, there were family members and friends accompanying them and a motley crowd of onlookers. They all looked eager to help the worshippers.
Pravitins wore new cotton clothes, took dips in the river and offered Arghya to the sun at the auspicious time when the crimson orb was setting.The offerings consist of fruits, homemade sweets, like thekuas, pedas, pakwan, chawal ke laddoo (sweets made of rice), vegetables and the first crop fresh from the fields.
All the sweets and other items are arranged in bamboo trays. A devotee, Rupesh Kumar said that the rituals are rigorous. They include holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water, standing in water for long periods of time and offering prasad and arghya to the setting and rising sun. “The devotees do not feel they are taking pains. They are rather exulted being part of the puja. The spirit of self-abnegation by way of prayer to the God forms the quintessence of the festival,” he said.