Gaya (Bihar)

As part of Chhath festival rituals, devotees across the country offered 'Arghya' to the rising Sun on Friday morning.

Devotees at various places in the country gathered at riverbanks and offered Argya on the last day of the four-day festival.

After the holy offering, parents pray to 'Chhatti Maiya' for the protection of their children as well as the happiness and peace of their whole family.

A large number of devotees can be seen offering 'Arghya' to the rising Sun on the last day of the festival in Bihar's Gaya and Patna.

Visuals emerged from Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, and Marina Beach in Chennai where devotees gathered in large numbers to offer prayer to the rising sun.

In the national capital, devotees offered prayers at a ghat in ITO.

A devotee who had gathered with her family at Geeta Colony said that she was excited and content that she could celebrate the entire festival.

"I have gathered here with my whole family to celebrate the occasion. We are all very excited that we could celebrate the whole festival," said a devotee who had gathered with her family at Geeta Colony.

In Noida, devotees gathered at the Sector 21 stadium to offer the 'Surya Arghya'.

Chhath Puja is a four-day festival celebrated to offer prayer to the Sun God.

The four days are marked as Nahay-Khay on the Chaturthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha, a day of purification, followed by Kharna on Panchami Tithi, Chhath Puja on Sashti, and will conclude with Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi.

In the four-day celebration, fasting is done by worshippers to express gratitude to the Sun God for sustaining life on Earth.

The festival is primarily celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Nepal, and by diaspora communities from these regions.