Chhath Puja 2023: Here's A List Of Puja Items Required To Perform Rituals

The auspicious four-day festival of Chhath Puja is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This year, the festival will begin on November 17 and conclude on November 20. The holy festival is dedicated to the Sun God, the ultimate source of energy and life. On this day, women perform the morning puja by standing in a water body and offering water to the Sun and Chhathi Maiyya, believed to be the Sun's sister. 

According to the Hindu calendar, Chhath celebrations begin with Nahay Khay (bathing and feasting) on the first day, followed by Kharna on the second day, then Chhath Puja on the third day, and Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi, which is the fourth and the last day. To perform the four-day-long puja one would need many items. Therefore, it's crucial that one gathers all the things in advance as missing even a single item in Chhath Puja is considered inauspicious.

Here's a list of materials that are required for the Chhath Puja rituals - 

• New clothes for the entire house, especially the person who is fasting.
• Two big bamboo baskets to keep offerings in Chhath Puja aka dawri
• Bamboo or brass vessel to offer Argha to the sun
• A set glass, lota and plate to keep milk and Ganga water for Arghya to the Sun
• Coconut filled with water
• 5 leafy sugarcane stems
• Rice
• 12 lamps or diya
• Incense sticks, kumkum, lights
• Vermilion
• A Banana leaf 
• Banana, apple, water chestnut, turmeric, radish, ginger plant, sweet potato and suthni (yam species)
• Betel nuts
• Honey and Sweets
• Jaggery (Jaggery is used instead of sugar to make the offerings to Chhathi Maiya)
• Wheat and rice flour
• Ganga water and milk
• Prasad- Thekwa

Chhath Puja is marked by a profound connection between nature and spirituality. With its rich traditions, the festival encapsulates the essence of gratitude, discipline and the eternal cycle of life. The main purpose of Chhath Puja is to give the Vrattis more strength, mental clarity, and physical prowess.