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Chhath devotees offered 'arghya' to the rising sun and performed puja on the banks of River Krishna ghat in Vijayawada on Friday morning as part of the rituals on the last day of the festival.
Visuals show women holding a 'soop and a dagar' to place and offer items to the deity in the festival. Traditionally made of bamboo, the soop is used to offer items to the deity during the time of the sun's worship and dagar is used to place items like fruits and vegetables. Speaking to ANI about the festival, Dinesh Kumar, a devotee said, "I and my family are from Begusarai, Bihar. We celebrate Chhath with a lot of joy and fervour. It is a significant festival in the Sanatan Dharma. We celebrate the festival no matter where we are in the country. I have been living for the past 10 years in Vijayawada." Another devotee, Sanjay Devi also spoke to ANI and said, "I belong to Chappra in Bihar. Chhath Puja is a very important festival for us. It is a Mahaparv for us. We place fruits, thekua, puri and other items in the soop as an offering." Binita Vaibhav, another devotee, explained the significance of the festival and said, "I hail from Patna in Bihar and have been living in Vijayawada for the past 3 years. Chhath Puja is an important festival for Biharis all across the country. We pray to the Sun God and Chhatthi Maiyaa in the festival. We give arghya to the setting and rising sun and pray for the well-being of our kids and happiness and prosperity of our family members." Devotees at various places in the country gathered at riverbanks and offered Arghya on the last day of the four-day festival. After the offering, parents pray to 'Chhatthi Maiya' for the protection of their children as well as the happiness and peace of their whole family. A large number of devotees could be seen offering 'Arghya' to the rising Sun on the last day of the festival in parts of the country. The four days are marked as Nahay-Khay on the Chaturthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha, a day of purification, followed by Kharna on Panchami Tithi, Chhath Puja on Sashti, and will conclude with Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi. In the four-day celebration, fasting is done by worshippers to express gratitude to the Sun God for sustaining life on Earth. The last day of the festival concludes with the worshippers going to a riverbank and offering an 'Arghya' to the rising sun. The festival is primarily celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Nepal, and by diaspora communities from these regions. (ANI)
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