The Chhath festival of Bihar is dedicated chiefly to which deity?
- A.Vishnu
- B.Surya
- C.Shiva
- D.Indra
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Surya. Chhath is kept for the Sun God, Surya, along with Chhathi Maiya, and the whole ritual is built around the sun: the vratis stand in water and offer arghya, that is water and prasad, first to the setting sun on the evening of shashthi and then to the rising sun the next morning. It is one of the very few Indian festivals in which the setting sun is worshipped before the rising one.
Option A, Vishnu, is worshipped at Gaya in the Pitrapaksha Mela and at Sonepur as Harihar, but not in Chhath. Option C, Shiva, is the deity of the Shravani Mela, when kanwariyas carry Ganga water from Sultanganj to Deoghar. Option D, Indra, belongs to Vedic worship and to the Indra Jatra of Nepal, not to Chhath. Remember that Chhath needs no temple, no idol and no priest, which is the other point examiners like.
Read the full article: Chhath, Sonepur Mela and Festivals of Bihar: Key Facts
Practice Questions
View allThe main worship of Chhath falls on which day of the month of Kartik?
- A.Chaturthi of the bright half
- B.Panchami of the bright half
- C.Shashthi of the bright half
- D.Purnima
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The festival takes its very name from shashthi, the sixth day of the bright half of Kartik, on which the evening offering to the setting sun is made.
Read the full explanation →Which is the chief prasad of Chhath, made of wheat flour and jaggery?
- A.Thekua
- B.Tilkut
- C.Anarsa
- D.Khaja
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Thekua is a hard sweet made from wheat flour and jaggery, fried in ghee or oil and pressed in a wooden mould, and it is the offering most closely identified with Chhath.
Read the full explanation →The Sonepur fair is held at the confluence of which two rivers?
- A.Ganga and Son
- B.Ganga and Gandak
- C.Ganga and Kosi
- D.Ganga and Punpun
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Sonepur in Saran district lies opposite Patna at the point where the Gandak, coming down from Nepal, joins the Ganga, and the fair is held on that bank from Kartik Purnima.
Read the full explanation →The Sonepur fair, described as the largest cattle fair in Asia, begins on which day?
- A.Makar Sankranti
- B.Kartik Purnima
- C.Vaishakh Purnima
- D.Sharad Purnima
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The Harihar Kshetra fair at Sonepur opens on the full moon of Kartik and runs for about a month, with cattle, horses, birds and handicrafts on sale, a theatre ground, and traders from several states.
Read the full explanation →During the Shravani Mela, kanwariyas carry Ganga water from which place in Bihar to the Baidyanath shrine at Deoghar?
- A.Sultanganj
- B.Munger
- C.Barh
- D.Buxar
Show answer
Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district is the starting point of the Shravani Mela.
Read the full explanation →