Ranchi: Lakhs of devotees across Jharkhand
on Tuesday paid obeisance to the setting Sun on the occasion of the
Chhath festival which would end after offerings of prayer to
the rising Sun tomorrow.
People congregated at river banks, rivulets and other
water bodies, went inside knee deep water and paid arghya to
the setting Sun.
They would return to the same spots tomorrow and pray
to the Sun god, marking the end of the 4-day festival.
Elaborate arrangements have been made for devotees on
the occasion at the Koel river in Palamau while ghats across
Jharkhand were spruced up by the administration to help
devotees observe the annual festival, official sources said.
Tradition has it that an ancient king got cured of
leprosy after he adhered to the advice given by his doctor to
observe fast and offer arghya to the setting and rising Sun
standing in knee-deep around this period of time, marking the
beginning of the festival.
"As per the tradition, Chhath Puja is performed to
thank the Sun god that sustains life on earth. All rituals and
songs sung by the devotees during the festival centre around
veneration of the Sun with the belief that it helps promote
health and prosperity," says geologist Nitish Priyadarshi.
PTI
