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Tell me the story of Chhat Puja

No one story is accepted by all. But everyone agrees, the festival is about lights

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Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt PattanaikMany people asked me what is the significance of Chhat puja. They want to know a story, for example, there is a story of Ram’s return to Ayodhya on Diwali, and Lakshmi entering the house on Diwali. So there must be a story associated with Chhat Puja. 

Yes, we can tell stories that this is related to the Sun, to goddess Sasthi who protects mothers, or the six Krittika stars who raised Kartikeya, that this is a festival performed by Sri Rama and Sita after the return from 14 years of exile, and by Draupadi and the Pandavas, in order to restore their fortune after they lost everything in the gambling match. Stories about kings performing these rituals in order to get children. But these stories came later. Before stories there was the ritual. The doing was more important than the story. In the oldest religions, the practice (karma kanda) is more important than the intellectual reason (gyan kanda). There may be emotion (bhakti) linked to action (kriya), but the latter is most important. 

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