Chhath Puja 2023: What is Sandhya Arghya? Know the shubh muhurat, timings, significance and rituals for day 3 of Chhath

On the third day of Chhath Puja festival, devotees observe the traditional ritual of Sandhya Arghya, offering prayers to the setting sun. All details inside.

Chhath Puja, also known as Surya Shashti, Chhath, Chhathi, Chhath Parv, Dala Puja, Pratihar and Dala Chhath, is an important Hindu festival. The four-day auspicious occasion has already kicked off on November 17 and will be concluded on November 20. It is observed on the sixth day of Kartik Shukla and six days after Diwali. On this day, worshippers honour Chhathi Maiya and Lord Surya, the sun gods, and seek their blessings and prosperity for their families and children. During Chhath, people also perform the arduous 36-hour Nirjala The third day, known as Sandhya Arghya, involves offering prayers to the setting sun, and the final day culminates with Usha Arghya to the rising sun. From the Sandhya Arghya ritual to Shubh Muhurat, here is all you need to know about the second day of Chhath.

Chhath Puja Day 3: What is Sandhya Arghya?

On Sunday, November 18 day 3 of the Chhath Puja will be observed. On this day devotees observe the traditional ritual of Sandhya Arghya or Pehla Arghya in which arghya is offered to the setting sun. Starting on the third day of the festival, meticulous preparations are made for Chhath Prasad, which is of great importance.

In addition to buying new bamboo soops and baskets to store the prasad, Vratis and her family members take early morning baths. The goods stored in the soops include coconuts, oranges, makhana, dried fruits, paddy, green ginger, apples, rice, bodi, sugarcane, cardamom, thekua/pakwan/tikri, ghee, aruwa, lemon, fresh fruits, nuts, gagal, and a variety of sattvik foods.

A prasad made from wheat, sugar or jaggery, thekua is considered the most important dish during Chhath Puja. Flour is mixed with jaggery or a solution of sugar and water to make a dough of just the right consistency - it shouldn't be thin or soft. A lump of dough is taken out by those making the prasad, rolled and pressed against the sancha. It is then thrown into a heated kadai filled with oil or ghee and cooked until golden brown. The process of making prasad involves the vrati as well as other family members.

Sandhya Arghya 2023 auspicious timing and shubh muhurat

According to Drik Panchang, the auspicious timings and shubh muhurat for the third day of Chhath Puja are as follows:

Sunrise timing: 06:49 AM

Sunset timing: 05:44 PM

Shashthi tithi: Upto 07:23 AM

Saptami tithi: Upto 05:21 AM, Nov 20

Brahma muhurt: 05:04 AM to 05:57 AM

Abhijeet muhurat: 11:55 AM to 12:38 PM

Rituals of Sandhya Arghya

Sandhya arghya is offered to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiyya at the ghat with the soops and bamboo baskets filled with prasad items. On this day, devotees abstain from all food and beverages. The Nirjala fast finishes on the fourth or last day of Chhath, when Usha Arghya is offered to Surya Bhagwan and Chhathi Maiyya. The prasad from the bamboo baskets is first eaten by the vratis after the arghya on the last day of Chhath and then shared with all the family members and companions of the vratis. The purpose of the celebration is to give thanks for all of life's blessings, to pray for family members' prosperity and well-being, and to ask the Sun God and his wife Usha for blessings.