On the Chaturthi of Kartik Krishna Paksha, the women of India keep Karwa Chauth fasting for the long life of their beloved husbands. The festival of Karwa Chauth is prominently celebrated in North India including Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
Rituals and traditions of Karwa Chauth
On this auspicious day, elder female members of the family, i.e. Mother-in-law give their daughter-in-law a Sargi, including a saree. The fast starts by eating Sargi (fans, fruits, dry fruits, sweets, vermicelli, and pans) at 4 o’clock in the morning. After the sargi is finished, they can’t eat or drink again until the sunset. On this day, women wear new ethnic clothes like Sari, lehenga, etc, and also apply henna on their hands a day before the festival.
Women in the night sit together in a circle with their puja thalis and one of them narrates the story of Karwa Chauth. The Karwa puja starts by praying to Lord Ganesha. After the finishing of Karwa Chauth puja, women wait till the moon rises. And as the moon becomes visible, women on fast look at the moon or the reflection in an earthen pot through sieve known as Karwa, and then they look at their husbands. Fasting women give Argh to the moon, offer fruits or sweets to the moon, and wish for the long life of their husbands. Later to this, the husbands offer the fruits and water to their wives to break the fast.
Stories related to Karwa Chauth
Story of Karwa
Back in history, there was a woman named Karwa, who loved her husband very much and this deep love of her rewarded her with spiritual powers. Once her husband went to the river to take a bath, where a crocodile attacked him. Seeing her husband in grave danger, Karwa tried to get all her courage and then tied the crocodile with a cotton thread. After she tied the crocodile, she started remembering Lord Yama, known as the Lord of death. Since Lord Yama was scared and terrified of getting cursed by such a devoted wife, he as per Karwa sent the crocodile to death and blessed her by giving back her husband’s life.
Story of Savitri-Satyavan
It is believed that when Lord Yama, lord of death arrived to take the life of king Satyavan, Savitri (his wife) begged and prayed in front of Yama so as not to take his life. Savitri was truly a devoted and loving woman. But as Yama was stubborn for not to undo the deed, Savitri set herself on fasting and stopped eating and drinking and followed back lord who rook her husband’s soul away. Seeing the dedication and hard penance of Savitri, Lord Yama said her to ask for gratuity except for the life of her husband. Well, Savitri was smart so she asked to be blessed with the children.
She was a loyal wife and so she can’t let any kind of fornication. Thus, Yama was forced to give back the life of Satyavan so that they both can have their children.
Story of Veeravati
Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful queen named Veeravati who was the only sister among her seven loving brothers. Once she happened to be at her parent’s home during Karwa Chauth and had a strict fast right from the sunrise. And as the sun sets she was waiting curiously for moonrise because she was feeling very thirsty and hungry. Seeing her suffering so much, her brothers were feeling bad for her. So they decided He burns a lamp on a peepal tree and puts it in a sieve. that appeared to be like a moon in the sky.
After seeing the moon, Veeravati broke her fast and as she was about to eat the first bite, she sneezed. Then she tried to take the second bite and she saw a hair strand in it. And as soon as she was about to take the third bite, she got the news of her husband’s death.
She kept on weeping badly and seeing this her sister-in-law told her what her brothers did was the reason for this mishap. And a goddess appeared on earth to which Veeravati begged for her husband’s life. Goddess told her to do the fasting with full devotion and dedication. Veeravati did the same and seeing which God rewarded her with her husband’s life. From that time, women have a strong belief in this fast.
Karwa Chauth updates from Bollywood
Niti Taylor renowned actor, gave the news of her clandestine wedding on October 6, 2020, with her husband Parikshit Bawa in between the pandemic. She shared a trailer of her wedding with Mr. Right on August 13, 2020, and from those times her pictures from “Kangana khelne ki rasam and pehli rasoi” have gone viral. As it is her first Karwa Chauth, she had applied mehndi on her hands for which she even shared a video saying “Karwa Chauth ki mehndi”. we could see her sindoor-applied forehead clearly in the video.
She shared a picture with her husband while having Sargi. Today, my husband and I are celebrating our first Karwa Chauth, one of our many firsts together! To make this day even more special Parikshit is also up early for my Sargi. Initially, I was nervous about fasting the whole day but now with a recipe made with love and a special touch of Quaker Oats, my sargi is nutritious and tasty and will help keep me going through the day! Happy #Karvachauth to all #QuakerKarwaChauth @quaker_india.
Kiara Advani, a Bollywood actor shared an Instagram story on Tuesday night in which she was applying mehndi on her mother’s hands. She even writes “mehndi for mama”.
Raj Kundra, famous businessman and husband of actress Shilpa Shetty, shared a funny meme for KArwa Chauth where he has drawn a comparison among what men think wives see in their faces and what women actually see. He wrote “happy Karwa Chauth” with the post.
Karan Mehra, a famous TV actor shared a video with her wife as the two enjoyed the early morning sargi. Karan uses the caption, “Happy Karwa Chauth. Kove and Kugs.” On his hilarious video, Nisha Mehra even commented, “Look at me thoooosing in the background.”
South Indian film industry’s actor Allu Arjun’s wife Sneha Reddy shared a beautiful picture on her Instagram handle a day before an important festival for married couples of South “Atla Tadee”. She wrote, “Atlathadhi” followed by a red heart emoticon in the caption. Take a look”
