<Next Page>

Bihar celebrates its scores of religious festivals and fairs of great local fervor .Each festival is unique in style and is characterised by colour, gaiety, enthusiasm, feasts and heterogeneity of prayers and rituals. Bihar is a holy land for the Jains as well; as two-major Jain festivals celebrated here are Mahavir Jayanti at Parasnath Hill in April and Dev Diwali, which commemorates the final liberation of Lord Mahavir. Traditional Indian festivals of Ramnavami, Dassehra, Diwali and Holi are also feted with great extravaganza in Bihar.

The Buddha is regarded as the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.Buddha was born, attained enlightenment and passed away, all on the same full moon day of April/May.The day falls in the Vaishakh month according to the Indian solar calendar.Thus, Vaisakhi Poornima, one of the most beautiful full moon nights in the year,is celebrated as Buddha Jayanthi.On this day the Buddhists wear only white clothes,spend their entire day at the vihara and also reaffirm their faith in the five principles called Panchsheel—not to take life, not to steal, not to lie, not to imbibe liquor or other intoxicants, and not to commit adultery.Bodh Gaya isthe main centers of celebration of this festival in Bihar.

Observed mostly by the people of North Bihar, it is dedicated to the worship of the Sun God and therefore, is also known as ‘SuryaShashti’. Chhath is considered a means to thank the Sun for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and also for fulfilling particular wishes.It comes a week after Diwali as the word ‘Chhath’ denotes the number ‘six’ and thus the festival begins on the sixth day of the Hindu month of ‘Kartik’ as per the Hindu lunar calendar.

A fast is observed during the day and in the evening offerings are made to the setting sun. The people of Bihar practically live on the banks of the river Ganga when a ritual offering is made to the Sun God. 

Chhath is a very colorful festival and new clothes are a must for the devotees.A popular belife about Chhath is that all the desires of the devotees are always fulfilled during Chhath. Also, an element of fear is present among the devotees who dread the punishment for any misdeed during Chhath.

The art of Mithila is also linked to religious ceremonies, particularly marriage and its consequence, procreation in Bihar.The women of Mithila are largely illiterate and these exquisite paintings created for ritual ocassions are a means of their cultural expression.   More

<Next Page>