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Devotees and their family members washing and drying food grains for Chhath Puja Prasad.
– Photo: Amar Ujala Digital
Expansion
The great festival of folk faith, Chhath, has started. Today is the first day of the four-day great festival. It is called Nahay-Khay or Kadua-Bhaat or Kaddu-Bhaat. It is called Kaddu-bhaat or Kadua bhaat because on this day, after taking bath in pure water, people eat pumpkin (gourd) along with gram dal and make vegetable and eat Arwa rice bhaat along with it. This name also means purity and sattvikta, but behind saying ‘Nahay-Khay’, many criteria of sattvikta are actually mentioned. Know in this news, today’s preparation, process and precautions.
What preparation process needs to be done?
Surya Shashthi, Dala Chhath, Chhath Mahaparva, Parab, Chhath… whatever you call it, it starts with Nahay Khay. Taking bath and eating is not the only process on this day. Today is the real day of thorough preparation. On this day, first of all the house is cleaned by bathing. There should be no dirt anywhere, especially the side where the fasting person has to stay or visit, that side is specially cleaned. After this, the devotee and some of his associates take bath and start their further work. The next task is to prepare pumpkin and rice on one side and on the other side to wash and dry the wheat and rice used to make the main puja prasad.
What precautions need to be taken?
Chhath is a festival of faith and purity is paramount in it. Therefore, Nahay-Khay itself is dedicated to purity. From the day of Nahay-Khay, no dirt of any kind is kept around the fasting person. Not even a single argument is made against them. The feet of anyone else, even an elder, should not touch the body of the fasting person. The fasting people do not pay obeisance to anyone except Suryadev and Chhathi Maiya. On the day of Nahay-Khay, wheat and rice are kept in a pure vessel and washed. Equal care is taken about the purity of water. Where there is river Ganga, people wash with Ganga water only. Where there is facility for water to come out directly from the ground, water is taken from handpump-boring and washed. As far as accuracy is possible, care is taken. Wheat and rice are washed and dried on clean or new cloth. If the cloth is washed, then cleanliness around it is also taken care of. If cow dung is available, it is applied to the area where the grains are to be dried. Only after it dries is a cloth spread over the grains and allowed to dry. While drying in the sun, care is taken to ensure that no ants or flies touch the grains, no feathers or bird’s dung etc. falls on them. After drying thoroughly it is ground. Earlier it was ground at home, but now even if we go outside for grinding, it is ground in a clean mill. Only after sending it for grinding, the devotees go to eat pumpkin and rice. The fasting companions who are in the process of washing and drying also do not eat or drink anything till then. If you eat and drink, you have to leave that work.