Chhath Puja 2025 - Sandhya Arghya Date & Time for Rituals
Sandhya Arghya
Chhath Puja is an ancient festival celebrated primarily in Eastern India. One of the most sacred rituals in this four-day festival is the Sandhya Arghya, during which people of all ages offer prayers and pay their respects to the Sun Lord to bring harmony, calmness, and optimism to their lives. Read to know how the Sandhya Arghya ritual is held so that it can transform your life.
Sandhya Arghya: The Main Ritual Of Chhath Puja
Chhath Puja is a Vedic festival to pay respects to Chhathi Maiya, the goddess of purity and energy and the Sun God (Surya Dev). This unique festival is about self-control, balance and gratitude. Celebrated in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Nepal, it is a way to show respect to the Sun, the life-giver to everyone.
According to Astrology, the Sun is the life force, and your soul (Atma). When you give Arghya to the Sun, it helps to connect with the Sun’s energy. Offering Sandhya Arghya (evening Arghya) allows you to tap into the energy of the setting Sun, and it is the perfect time to reflect, rest, and let go. The Sandhya Arghya is also a symbol of completion and endings, and has the power to break recurring destructive patterns, absorb negative energy, and balance emotions. Performing this ritual symbolises washing away regret, worry, and confusion.
What Are The Rituals Performed During Sandhya Arghya
The festival of Chhath begins with Nahay Khay, the ritual bath before sunrise, followed by Kharna, then Sandhya Arghya, and concludes with Usha Arghya.
Sandhya Arghya: The Main Ritual Of Chhath Puja
Chhath Puja is a Vedic festival to pay respects to Chhathi Maiya, the goddess of purity and energy and the Sun God (Surya Dev). This unique festival is about self-control, balance and gratitude. Celebrated in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Nepal, it is a way to show respect to the Sun, the life-giver to everyone.
According to Astrology, the Sun is the life force, and your soul (Atma). When you give Arghya to the Sun, it helps to connect with the Sun’s energy. Offering Sandhya Arghya (evening Arghya) allows you to tap into the energy of the setting Sun, and it is the perfect time to reflect, rest, and let go. The Sandhya Arghya is also a symbol of completion and endings, and has the power to break recurring destructive patterns, absorb negative energy, and balance emotions. Performing this ritual symbolises washing away regret, worry, and confusion.
What Are The Rituals Performed During Sandhya Arghya
The festival of Chhath begins with Nahay Khay, the ritual bath before sunrise, followed by Kharna, then Sandhya Arghya, and concludes with Usha Arghya.
- Day 1 (Nahay Khay): It is a day to cleanse the self with a sacred bath and eat only Satvik food.
- Day 2 (Kharna): It is a day of fasting in the morning and then, in the evening, a ceremony where the devotee can eat.
- Day 3 (Sandhya Arghya): The central ritual where prayers are offered to the setting sun.
- Day 4 (Usha Arghya): Arghya is offered to the rising sun, symbolic of new beginnings.
- The rituals begin with a fast on the Kharna day.
- Clean your Pooja altar and the surrounding areas to create a welcome space.
- Collect the essential items for the Puja, which include a large basket (daura), a winnowing basket (soop) and daliya to offer Arghya to the Sun.
- The other items for the rituals include lamps, incense, kumkum, vermillion, Ganga water, milk, red cloth, mango wood, an earthen stove, and new clothes. Fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes, bananas, sugarcane, coconuts and turmeric-ginger plants should also be arranged for the Puja.
- For Prasad, arrange dry fruits, thekua, Kheer and roti.
- Choose to wear traditional clothes and head to the nearby waterbody before sunset. If not, create a water space at home.
- Face the sun, stand in water, hold the soop filled with offerings, and slowly pour the mixture of milk, water and flowers as Arghya while chanting traditional Chhath songs and prayers.
- Light lamps, place them on water gently, allowing them to float as a symbol of light over darkness.
- Close your eyes and express your gratitude to Surya Dev for bestowing the energy, peace and health.
