Surya Shasthi Vrat Katha

Surya Shasthi
Surya Shasthi Vrata is one of the most awaited holy days as lakhs of devotees offer prayers to the Sun god. Being immensely popular in North India as well as Eastern India, in Bihar this vrata is celebrated as a three-day festival. Popularly known as the ‘Dala Chhat’ or ‘Chhat Puja’, it begins on Kartik Shukla Chaturthi and ends on Kartik Shukla Shashti .Unlike any other Indian festival, devotees pray to both the setting as well as the rising sun.
According to the Skanda Purana, a devotee should eat food prepared with salt once-a-day on Kartik Shukla Chaturthi. On Shasti, they need to observe a ‘nirjala’ fast. As per traditions, the devotee then goes to the bank of a river while the sun is setting, lights a lamp and worships the Sun god by offering flowers, fruits and ‘naivedya’. Red sandalwood paste and red flowers too form an important part of the offerings to the Surya dev. The worshipper then takes pure water from the river in a copper vessel, adds red vermilion (roli), flowers and unbroken grains of rice (Akshat) to it and offers this to the Sun god. Additionally, the devotees need to stay awake the whole night as they need to go to the river bank next morning to offer special prayers known as Arghya to the rising sun and then bathe. This marks the end of the Chhat Vrata.
Thekua, a sweet made from the mixture of whole wheat flour and jaggery is a staple during this vrata. Mata Shashti is also revered on this occasion. Idols of Mata Shashti are made by devotees using clay which is then immersed in the lake or river. It is said that by worshipping the Sun god, all desires of a person are granted. Couples who wish to have a son also observe this fast.
Surya Shasthi Vrat Katha
Once upon a time, there lived a woman who longed to have a child. On the day of Kartik Shukla Saptami, she took a vow that if were blessed with a son she would observe this vrata. With the Sun god’s blessings, she soon gave birth to a baby boy. But unfortunately, she did not keep her promise.
In the years that followed, the boy grew up to be an intelligent, strong young man. Soon, he was married to a beautiful girl with his mother’s blessings. One day the newly married couple were returning home post their marriage, they stopped in the forest to rest. While resting, the girl soon observed that her beloved husband lay dead. Grief-stricken and shocked, the girl remained transfixed. Just then an old lady appeared and told her that she is Chhat Mata. She informed the young girl that her husband had died because her mother-in-law had not kept her promise of observing the Surya Shashti Vrata.
Further, Chhat Mata informed the girl that while she could kill her husband to punish her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t do so because of the new wife’s condition. Saying so, she blessed the boy and he was alive again. On returning home, the wife narrated the tale to the mother-in-law who realized her fault and observed the Surya Shashti Vrata to appease the Sun god and apologize for her misgivings.