Samagri (Materials Needed)
बांस की टोकरी (सूप/डाला) मौसमी फल (केला, नारियल, सिंघाड़ा, नारंगी) ठेकुआ (गेहूं व गुड़ से बना प्रसाद) गन्ना, मूली, हल्दी का पौधा (जड़ सहित) दीया, घी, धूप दूध, जल (अर्घ्य हेतु) नए वस्त्र (धोती/साड़ी) सूप, पीतल का लोटा
Bamboo baskets (soop/dala) Seasonal fruits (banana, coconut, water chestnut, orange) Thekua (wheat and jaggery prasad) Sugarcane, radish, turmeric plant (with roots) Diya, ghee, dhoop Milk, water (for arghya) New clothes (dhoti/saree) Soop, brass lota
Step-by-Step Vidhi
1. Day 1 (Nahay Khay): Bathe, clean the house, and eat a simple satvik meal (often lauki-chana dal and rice) after a holy dip. 2. Day 2 (Kharna): Observe a day-long fast broken at sunset with a meal of rice kheer (jaggery-rice pudding) and roti, then begin the 36-hour nirjala fast. 3. Day 3 (Sandhya Arghya): In the evening, go to a riverbank/water body with the filled soop of fruits and thekua, stand in the water and offer Sandhya Arghya (evening offering) to the setting sun. 4. Day 4 (Usha Arghya): Return before dawn the next morning and offer Usha Arghya to the rising sun, standing in the water once more, concluding the vrat with prasad distribution.
Auspicious Timing & Mantras
Performed over four days during Kartik Shukla Shashthi, based on precise sunrise/sunset timings for each day's arghya. One of the most rigorous vrats, dedicated to Surya and Chhathi Maiya, observed for the health and prosperity of one's children and family.