Chhath Maiya (Hindi/Bhojpuri/Maithili: छठी मइया, छठ मैया) is the goddess invoked in the Chhath festival — a four-day ritual addressed to Surya (the Sun) and his sister-consort Usha / Sashthi, performed on the banks of rivers and water bodies across Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and the Nepal Terai. She is the Bihar T0 anchor, and a rare case of a Vedic-continuity goddess — the festival preserves rituals arguably descended from Rig Veda hymns to Usha and Aditi — whose
Deities
