It is believed that this fast of worshipping a clay elephant will fulfill the wishes of the devotees.
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Chaite Chhath has begun in Madhesh. The devotees, who started the religious and traditional rituals of Chaite Chhath festival with the 'Nahakhaya' ritual on Sunday, are performing the 'Kharna' ritual today, Monday. In this ritual, also known as 'Rasyau Roti', the devotees will worship the Chhathi Mata at their homes this evening and eat kheer (Rasyau) and puri cooked with milk and honey.
It is customary to give the Rasyau Roti cooked by the devotees to other family members and friends as prasad. Some devotees even invite their neighbors in advance to eat Rasyau Roti. The devotees who eat Rasyau Roti and others also stay pure vegetarians without eating tamasic foods like meat and fish throughout the day.
After the Rasyau Roti is served this evening, the devotees will observe a waterless fast all day tomorrow, Tuesday, and break the fast only after worshipping the setting sun in the evening and the rising sun in the morning of the day before Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, the devotees and their entire family members will reach the attractive Chhathi Ghat, which is built on a pond, river, lake, etc. near their homes. It is customary for the devotees' family members, dressed in new clothes, to carry the basket of the devotee's worship materials on their heads to the ghat. Especially the male members of the family fulfill this responsibility.
At Chhath Ghat, the devotees will offer various worship materials including coconuts on bamboo poles to the setting sun. After that, they sit on the ghat for hours and worship. Some devotees return home at night and perform the ritual of filling the Koshi in the courtyard.
During this festival, the devotees do not need a priest to worship. Chhath is the only festival in which the devotees do not need a priest. The devotees worship themselves. It is believed that this fast of worshiping a clay elephant will fulfill the wishes of the devotees. When the Koshi is filled in this way, family members, relatives, and neighbors also come there to offer prayers. The devotees staying at the ghat sing bhajans and kirtans there throughout the night.
The special flour dough offered during this festival will be prepared in the households of the devotees on Monday night and tomorrow, Tuesday morning. The female members of the family help the devotees in this work. While preparing the prasad in this way, utmost care is taken to ensure purity and sanctity.
