Lucknow : The festival of Karwa Chauth is celebrated by married Hindu women across Northern India. This year, the festival will be celebrated on October 8, 2017. As per the Hindu calendar, the festival falls during the Krishna Paksha Chaturthi in the month of Kartik.
On this day, married women fast until moonrise. They offer their prayers to the moon, before ending the fast.
Why is Karva Chauth celebrated?
According to Mahabharata, Karva Chauth can be traced back to the time when Savitri begged the god of death, Lord Yama, for her husband’s soul.
Another episode in the epic states that when Arjuna went to the Nilgiris to pray and meditate for a few days, leaving the rest of the Pandavas and Draupadi behind, his wife got worried and she sought Lord Krishna’s help. He advised her to fast for Arjuna’s well-being and reminded her how goddess Parvati did the same for Shiva’s safety. Draupadi adhered to the fast, observing all its rituals carefully and soon Arjuna returned home.
The festival is also associated with wheat-sowing time or the beginning of the rabi crop-cycle, which is probably why Karva Chauth is observed in most agriculture-dependent regions like Rajasthan, Punjab, western UP, etc.
Why is it called Karva Chauth?
The festival falls on the fourth day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar. ‘Karva’ means earthen pots used to store wheat and ‘chauth’ means the fourth day. Woman buy new earthen pots a few days before the festival and decorate it with beautiful designs and put new bangles, sweets, and make-up items inside them. They would then visit other women and exchange the karvas.
Rituals :
Women rise early and start their day with sargi, a meal prepared by their mother-in-law. After this meal, they don’t consume any food or water till moonrise. Women also pray to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Lord Kartik. In the evening, women perform a puja, offer foods to the deities and pray for the safety and longevity of their husbands.
When the moon has been spotted, women will look at the moon and their husbands through a sieve, and the men will offer their wives water to break their fast.
What is sargi?
According to the rituals, the mother-in-law presents a thali called sargi for her daughter-in-law, mostly consisting of eatables like mithai, matthri, dry fruits, coconut and gifts like saris and jewellery.
May God bless them who live their entire life in the name of their partners .
Happy Karwa Chauth
