Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi extend Chhath Puja greetings to devotees

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Sunday, wished citizens on the occasion of the ongoing ‘Chhath Puja’ festival, praying for the happiness and prosperity of devotees.

In a post on the social media platform ‘X’, LoP Rahul Gandhi said: “Heartfelt greetings to all of you on the auspicious occasion of Chhath Puja.”

“May this grand festival of Sun worship illuminate your lives and bring renewed energy, positivity, and prosperity,” he added.

Priyanka Gandhi also wished countrymen on the sacred occasion.

Taking to ‘X’, the Congress MP said: “Heartfelt greetings on the auspicious festival of Chhath Puja, dedicated to the worship of Lord Surya and Chhathi Maiya.”

She offered her respects to those observing fast on the sacred festival.

“On this sacred occasion, I pay my respects to all the devotees observing the fast. May Chhathi Maiya bless your lives with happiness, prosperity, and good fortune,” Vadra said.

Devotees are immersed in religious fervour and devotion as the grand festival of folk faith, Chhath Puja, reaches its most significant stage, as they prepare to offer the first ‘arghya’ to the setting Sun, known as Sandhya Arghya, on Sunday evening.

The four-day festival will conclude on Monday morning with the offering of arghya to the rising Sun.

Devotees observing the festival are undertaking a rigorous 36-hour ‘Nirjala’ fast without consuming even water and are immersed in the worship of Lord Surya.

On Saturday, Chhath devotees performed the ‘Kharna’ rituals and prepared ‘prasad’, including rasiya, kheer and puris, using traditional methods. The offerings were cooked on clay stoves fuelled by mango wood, maintaining the age-old customs associated with the festival.

After observing a day of strict purity, devotion and religious discipline, the fasting devotees consumed the Kharna prasad in the evening in accordance with the prescribed rituals. This marked the beginning of the challenging 36-hour waterless fast.

In several households, special prayers were organised during the Kharna ritual in separate and secluded rooms, in keeping with the religious traditions associated with Chhath.