Chhath Puja or Surya Shashti is here – and women can be seen singing songs in groups. The songs invoke both the Sun god and Chhathi Maiya, and are sung in various languages and dialects. These languages include Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Angika and more, that are commonly spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and in the Purvanchal region.
What Do These Songs Mean?
In some songs, devotees tell gods they have kept a fast for the occasion, despite all hardships. Other songs are meant to tell birds not to eat the ripe fruits that will be offered to the gods as prashad.
Some songs urge the Sun God to rise on time, at least on the day of Chhath, and some others ask the gods for forgiveness if there are any shortcomings in preparing for the puja.
Here are some popular tunes that are commonly heard around Chhath Puja.
1. ‘Patna Ke Ghat Par’
2. ‘Kelva Ke Paath Par Aagelan Surajmal’
3. ‘Aaju Ke Dinva Ho Dinanath, He Laagat Aeti Der’
4. ‘Maarbo Re Sugwa Dhanush Se’
5. ‘Chhathi Maiya Ke Dihal Lalanva’
6. ‘Patna Ke Ghat Aradh Dehab’
(This article has been republished from The Quint’s archives. It has been translated from Hindi Quint.)
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