Shashthi (day)
Shashthi (Sanskrit: Ṣaṣṭhī ) also referred to as Chhath is the sixth day or tithi of a Paksha or fourteen-day phase of the moon. The word comes from the Sanskrit cardinal ShaRh (six), whence the ordinal number (linguistics) ShaShTha (sixth), fem. ShaShThI (days of the pakSha are feminine gender). The sixth tithi, especially in the waxing period (shuklapaksha), is important in several rituals including:
- Durga Puja (September–October, east India, Bengal)
- Sitalsasthi[1] (May–June, Orissa, neighbouring regions)
- Skanda Shashti or Subramanya Shashti[2] (November–December, south India, Tamil Nadu)
- Chhath, a major sun-worshiping day of Hindus is celebrated on sixth day Shukla Paksha of Kartika.