Patna, Nov 7 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister J P Nadda on Thursday undertook a steamer ride in the river Ganges to watch the Chhath festivities along the ghats in Patna.
Nadda, who often fondly recalls his childhood spent in the city, flew down in the afternoon to witness the state’s most popular festival, Chhath Puja.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal and other leaders of the NDA also accompanied Kumar and Nadda during the steamer ride.
Kumar took part in the Chhath celebrations and offered ‘Araghya’ to the setting sun at his official residence, 1 Anne Marg, before accompanying Nadda, the BJP national president, for the steamer ride. Kumar took part in the Chhath Puja celebrations with his family members.
The four-day Chhath puja celebrations began on November 5 with the ‘nahay-khay’ ritual and will conclude on November 8. It is observed on the sixth day of ‘Kartik Shukla’ and six days after Diwali. On this day, worshippers honour ‘Chhathi Maiya’, the sun god, and seek their blessings for their families and children.
Day one of the festival is called ‘Nahai Khai’, which begins with devotees taking the holy dip in the Ganga and other rivers and also ponds. On the next day, devotees observe a full-day fast which is completed in the evening after praying to the sun and the moon during sunset. The third day is called ‘pehla argha’ or ‘saandhya argha’. The devotees and their families go to the river bank and offer prasad and ‘argya’ to the Sun god. PTI PKD RG
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