Chhath Puja is the main festival of which state?

Correct — B. Chhath Puja is the great festival of Bihar, kept most widely there and in the adjoining regions of Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Nepal Terai.

Worship goes to Surya, the Sun, and to Chhathi Maiya, with devotees standing in a river or pond to offer arghya at sunset and again at sunrise.

The main observance falls in Kartika, a few days after Diwali, and the state SSC wants for it is option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Assam — Assam's principal festival is Bihu, kept three times a year and tied to the agricultural calendar. Chhath is not an Assamese observance.
• (c)
  Tamil Nadu — Tamil Nadu's main harvest festival is Pongal, which also honours the Sun but falls in January and follows completely different rituals. The solar theme is the bait.
• (d)
  Karnataka — Karnataka is associated with Ugadi and the Mysuru Dasara. No Chhath tradition is attached to the state.

Chhath is unusual among Hindu festivals in ways worth remembering.

It is addressed to a visible deity, the Sun, with no idol and no priest. Its central act is standing in water to offer arghya, once to the setting sun and once to the rising sun, which is why river ghats are the image the festival is known by.

It runs across four days with a long fast. The Kartik observance after Diwali is the major one, and a smaller Chaiti Chhath falls in the spring month of Chaitra.

Key facts

• Chhath Puja is dedicated to Surya, the Sun god, and to Chhathi Maiya.
• It is celebrated mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal.
• The main Chhath falls in the month of Kartika, a few days after Diwali.
• Devotees offer arghya to the setting sun and again to the rising sun while standing in water.

Common traps

• Choosing Tamil Nadu because Pongal is also a sun-linked festival
• Answering with the state where you have seen Chhath ghats rather than the festival's home region

No directly related past PYQ was found.