<span style="color: #222222;">Sital Sasthi is a sacred  Hindu festival is being celebrated in Odisha today. This week-long special festival highlights the marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. According to the Hindu calendar, Sital Sasthi is observed on the sixth day of the Jyestha month during the Shukla Paksha.<br />''<br />''People observing this festival believe that Lord Shiva represents the scorching heat of summer while Goddess Parvati signifies the first rain. So, this holy and lavish wedding is observed for a good monsoon.<br />''<br />''Sital Sasthi is a celebration wherein Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are adopted by two families, and their wedding is solemnised with the involvement of rituals. After the marriage is performed, the God and Goddess are then carried around  the city via a procession<br />''<br />''During the week-long festival, devotees in large numbers take part in the most famous Sitala Sasthi Yatra that is conducted at Sambalpur in Western Odisha.<br />''<br />''This festival is usually celebrated in a form of a grand carnival. Artists and individuals from different states come together and participate in the celebrations. The Sambalpur carnival, which is a popular event, attracts thousands of tourists from all over India and abroad.<br />''<br />''This year, an assembly of more than 6,000 artists from across Odisha as well as other states are likely to perform at the cultural extravaganza after a gap of two years. Events like folk music, dance, and other such festivities form the chief attraction of this carnival.</span><br />