Chhath Puja in Varanasi

Chhath Puja samagri list

• Bamboo soop and daura (basket)
• Thekua and kasar (laddoo of rice flour)
• Sugarcane with leaves
• Seasonal fruits such as banana, coconut, citrus and water chestnut
• Haldi, ginger and radish plants
• Milk and a copper or brass lota for arghya
• Ghee diyas and cotton wicks
• Sindoor, roli and akshat
• New clothes for the vrati as per custom
• Incense and camphor

The Pandit confirms the final list for your family's vidhi, and Pandit ji can arrange the samagri in Varanasi at an additional cost, agreed after discussion.

Chhath Puja vidhi, step by step

1. 1Nahay Khay. On the first day the vrati bathes, preferably in a river, cleans the home and eats a single pure meal, often of lauki, chana dal and rice cooked without onion or garlic.
2. 2Kharna. On the second day the vrati fasts through the day and in the evening prepares kheer of jaggery and rice with roti, which is offered and then taken as prasad before the nirjala fast begins.
3. 3Sankalp and preparation of the daura. The Pandit guides the sankalp in the family's name. Thekua, fruits, sugarcane and other offerings are arranged in bamboo soops and a daura.
4. 4Sandhya arghya. On the third evening the family goes to the ghat, and the vrati stands in the water to offer arghya to the setting sun with milk and water, while songs of Chhath are sung.
5. 5Usha arghya and parana. Before dawn on the fourth day the family returns to the ghat for arghya to the rising sun. The vrati then breaks the fast and prasad is shared.