The Significance of Chhath Beyond Religiosity

When Shri Ram was instructing Bharata in the art of statecraft at Chitrakoot, he asked him whether the purohitas (family priests) and Brahmins in his kingdom were living in contentment. Curious, Bharata could not help asking: "Brother! I understand why you inquire after the Brahmins, but why do you ask after the purohitas?" To this, Ram explained that the purohita who solemnises yajnas (Vedic sacrificial rituals) and all manner of karmakanda (ritual actions enjoined by the shastras) sets the economic wheels of society in motion, bringing about the economic upliftment of every section of the community.

Shri Ram said this because our ancestors designed vrata (vows and observances), festivals, karmakanda, and customs in such a manner that they would foster the economic advancement of every stratum of society. When a purohita arrives, he hands over a list of items required for the puja or ritual: flower garlands, blossoms, coriander, pancha-meva (five dry fruits), honey, sugar, ghrita (clarified butter), curd, milk, fruits, naivedya (food offered to the deity) or sweetmeats, cardamom, cloves, sinhasan (low wooden pedestal, seat), sandalwood, yajnopavita (sacred thread), unstitched cloth, betel leaves, kumkum, unbroken rice grains, abir, gulal, turmeric, cotton, roli, sindoor, betel nuts, and so forth.

The items requisitioned in this list serve the economic interests of people engaged in every walk of life. In Bihar, Chhath Puja is fast approaching. Last year too, Chhath Puja was solemnised. The day after the puja, I was reading a news report stating that on the occasion of Chhath, the trade in soop (winnowing baskets) and bamboo baskets alone was worth 52 crore rupees within Muzaffarpur district alone. In Bihar, the caste that holds a monopoly over the trade of soop and baskets belongs entirely to the "Dom caste", classified under the Mahadalit category by the Government of Bihar. Now consider which stratum of society benefited from the commerce of soop and bamboo baskets.

Those engaged in this trade await the festival of Chhath throughout the year, for this single festival yields enough income to spare them deprivation for the entire twelve months. What is particularly noteworthy is that the participation in this trade is predominantly by women. Likewise, during Chhath, the sale of earthen stoves, elephant figurines, and kumbha (earthen pots) is equally brisk, directly benefiting the potter community. Those cultivating sugarcane, other seasonal fruits, and bananas register more sales during this single festival than they manage across the entire remainder of the year.

Today, consumerism is at its peak; multinational corporations have virtually breached our homes. Yet, as a native of Bihar, it fills me with pride that this festival of my homeland provides employment solely and exclusively to the people of my own country. Chhath is, therefore, a potent instrument for awakening swadeshi consciousness and ensuring livelihood to our own people.

The significance of Chhath for us Biharis does not end here. Today, Christian missionaries have targeted Bihar for their proselytising activities, yet they have not achieved the success they anticipated relative to their "investment". The single biggest obstacle they encounter is this great festival of popular faith: Chhath. At the very same ghat (riverbank bathing steps), the vratis (those observing the vow) range from the so-called upper castes of society to those standing on the lowest rungs, where caste distinction and untouchability are obliterated entirely. Irrespective of caste, every woman observing the vrata is seen as an embodiment of the Devi, whose feet people deem it their good fortune to touch before receiving prasad.

If a Bihari endures all manner of hardship in packed trains to return home for Chhath, do not mock him; do not turn him into the butt of jokes. At the very least, applaud him for keeping his tradition intact despite such travail, and for not only indirectly aiding the economic upliftment of the humblest sections of his society, but also shielding them from falling into the fold of the vidharmis (those outside the Vedic fold).

The festival of Chhath has now entered the crosshairs of these leftists precisely because it stands as an obstacle to their masters reaping the harvest of conversion, and because multinational corporations find no foothold in it. That this year onwards, people awaken to looking at Chhath through a distinct lens—this is the sole purpose of this essay.

– Shri Abhijeet Singh, the author is a scholar of Bharatiya culture, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, a jyotirvid (astrologer), and a nationalist writer. 

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