SURYA PUJA - WORSHIP OF THE SUN

India & Nepal

• Hindu believers pray to the sun during the Chhath festival on the shores of Lake Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad on  Chhath festival, also known as Surya Pooja (worship of the sun) passes in the eastern part of India. People worship the sun and water gods, eight days after the festival of lights Diwali.

Hindus pray and offer gifts to the sun during the Chhath festival on the lake Hussain Sagar

• Nepalese Hindu holds a basket of fruit, which constitute an offering to God of the Sun during Chhath festival in the Bagmati river in Kathmandu. During Chhath festival people worship the rising and setting sun, expressing gratitude and asking for blessings from the forces of nature, mostly from the sun and river.

Indian Christians pray during Chhath festival in the river Mahananda in Siliguri.

Indian woman smiling, striking vermilion on the head of another woman, during the Chhath festival in the river Mahananda in Siliguri.

Hindu washes himself with water during the prayer the setting sun in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai, India.

Indian woman brings fruit and prays the setting sun during Chhath festival in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai.

Hindus perform the ritual in the Arabian Sea during Chhath festival in Mumbai, India.

Indians move, lying flat to the river Ganga that is part ritual, executed during the festival Chhath

The Indian believers perform rituals on the banks of the Ganges during the Chhath festival in Calcutta.

Indian women pray during a ceremony at the festival Chhath on the river Jumna in New Delhi.

Indian women perform rituals during the festival of Chhath in the river Jumna at Allahabad.

The Indian women bear the traditional pots during Chhath festival on the outskirts of New Delhi.