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Chhat Puja is considered a true test of a would-be devotee's piety, since the rituals often call for great physical and mental strength. In fact, some worshippers, as a measure of their fortitude, travel to riverbanks by repeatedly prostrating themselves on the ground (as a means of saluting the Sun God). Women taking dips in the river are Vratins - women who, in the next couple of days, would be fasting and also offering prayers to the Sun god. As the sun rises, people pray to the sun and give thanks for all the light and life it has given to the world. It is the month of Karthik in India, which starts around late October and ends in mid November. The occasion is Chhath Puja - an age-old ritual dating back to the Vedas and believed to have been observed by Draupadi of the Mahabharata. Chh
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