ABSTRACT
Chhath Puja is the festival of cleanliness of body and soul, truth, non-violence, forgiveness and compassion. Chhath Puja is one of the most important Hindu festivals in Bihar and Jharkhand during the month of Kartik. Chhath Puja is deep-rooted in folk culture and it sustains the basic concept of worship with a combination of biodiversity conservation, social integrity and local livelihood development. This is a unique Hindu cultural and ritual practice in Bihar that safeguards varieties of tropical fruits, flowers and water bodies in the villages. A minimum of three different species of fruits are seen in every home garden and often a pomelo tree is planted in front of the house or in the backyard of the homestead, specifically for Chhath Puja. As long as the festival of Chhath Puja continues in these Hindu communities of India and Nepal, on-farm conservation and sustainable use of pomelo and mango diversity will continue to persist.
