Pune: Devotees Celebrate Chhath Puja At Undri’s Wadachiwadi Lake With Offering Prayers To Sun
Pune: Devotees Celebrate Chhath Puja At Undri's Wadachiwadi Lake With Offering Prayers To Sun
The four-day Chhath Puja festival, a celebration rooted in deep devotion, began on November 5 with the ritual of Nahay-Khay. Observed mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhath Puja is considered the “Mahaparva” or grand festival of faith. However, the festival’s reach extends across India and beyond, as people from these regions carry their traditions wherever they reside.
Brijesh Singh from Undri commented, “In Pune’s Undri area, local devotees gathered at Wadachiwadi Lake to perform the main ritual of Astachalgami Arghya, or evening offering to the setting sun, on November 7. Participants immersed themselves in the ritual, honoring Surya Dev with an evening prayer to express gratitude and seek blessings.”
On the final day of the festival, November 8th, devotees will offer Arghya to the rising sun (Udyachal Surya), marking the end of the four-day festival. The entire ceremony, marked by holiness and community spirit, will conclude with the distribution of prasad, which includes Thekua – a traditional sweet made with flour and jaggery—along with fruits like bananas, oranges, apples, and guavas.
The Chhath Puja gathering at Wadachiwadi Lake highlights not only the power of cultural devotion but also the unity and spirit of celebration in places far from devotees’ home states, as they bring sacred rituals to the banks of local water bodies, turning them into spiritual havens for the Mahaparva.
