Ranchi: The four-day long festival of Chhath Mahaparv commenced on Friday with the ritual of ‘Nahai-Khai’ or ‘Kaddu Bhaat’. As part of the ritual, ‘parvaitin’ (the main worshiper who keeps fast) cooks the most ‘Satvik Kaddu Bhaat’ and serves it to the deity in the afternoon as Bhog.
This marks the beginning of the Chhath festival and is the last meal of the Parvaitin during Chhath Puja. It is believed that the vegetable ‘Kaddu’ is very pure and has also lots of water content which addresses the water needs of the person who performs the rituals of the festival. On Saturday Kharna will be observed.
On this day, the parvaitin cooks a rice kheer with Roti/Poori, other seasonal fruits and dry fruits and offer it to the deity as naivedya (bhog) in the evening. Later, the prasad is distributed among family and friends.
On Sunday the devotees will flock to their nearby water bodies and offer Arghya to the setting sun while on Monday the festival will end with the people offering Arghya to the rising sun. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has extended his greetings to the people on the occasion.