Karva Chauth

The fast of Karva Chauth is observed by married women from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and long life of their husbands. Karva Chauth fast is observed every year on the Chaturthi of Krishna Paksha of Kartik month. Chauth means – Chaturthi is the date and  Karva is a small special type of pottery made of clay. The tradition of this fast is more prevalent in North India.

This fast is an integral part of Indian tradition. In Sanskrit texts, this festival is addressed as ‘Karaka Chaturthi‘. Based on the relation of husband and wife, this fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of North India like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh etc. It is celebrated as Atala Tadde in Andhra Pradesh.

In this article, we will know about the date and significance of this fast.

Why is the Fast of Karva Chauth celebrated?

Married women observe a fast on this day for the long life of their husband. It is believed that women who observe the fast of Karva Chauth and worship Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati with a sincere heart, they get the result of being an unbroken Saubhagyavati (a fortunate wife).

When is the Fast Karva Chauth observed?

Every year, the fast of Karva Chauth is observed on the Chaturthi Tithi of Krishna Paksha of Kartik month. This fast comes after Navratri and before Diwali. On this day, married women keep this fast. It is a beautiful honeymoon festival of married women. In this fast, mother-in-law gives Sargi (A plate of edible things) to her daughter-in-law.

When is the fast of Karva Chauth in 2022?

This year, in 2022, the Chaturthi Tithi of Krishna Paksha of Kartik month will start at 1:59 pm on the night of 13 October and will end at 03:08 am on 14 October.

Udaya Tithi is a universal date in Hinduism. In such a situation, the fast of Karva Chauth will be observed on October 13, 2022.

What is the auspicious time of Karva Chauth?

Abhijeet Muhurta will be on October 13, 2022 from 11:21 am to 12:07 pm.

Amrit Kaal Muhurta will remain from 04:08 pm to 05:50 pm.

The auspicious time for worship on the day of Karva Chauth will be from 05:46 PM to 06:50 PM.

What is the process of Karva Chauth Puja?

Women observing the fast take a bath before sunrise in the morning on the day of Karva Chauth. After this, worship the deities in the temple of the house and take a vow of Nirjala fast (a fast in which even water is not drink). In the evening, she takes a bath again and after that Shiva establishes Parvati on the earthen altar.

After this, they offer 16 items of makeup to Goddess Parvati by offering them chunari. During the puja (worship), she listens and narrates the story of Karva Chauth fasting.

On this day all the women of the house worship together. In the evening, at the time of moonrise, she looks at the moon god with a sieve and also sees her husband.

Which is the mantra to offer Arghya (water) to the moon?

The following is the mantra to offer Arghya (water) to the moon-

 

	Karkam kshirsampoorna toypurnmayapi wa. करकं क्षीरसंपूर्णा तोयपूर्णमयापि वा।
	Husband in Dadami Ratnasamyuktam Chiranjeevatu: ददामि रत्नसंयुक्तं चिरंजीवतु मे पतिः॥
	Iti mantra karkanpradyadvijasatme. इति मन्त्रेण करकान्प्रदद्याद्विजसत्तमे।
	Suvasinibhyo dadyacha aadyattabhya eva. सुवासिनीभ्यो दद्याच्च आदद्यात्ताभ्य एववा।।
	And Vratamya Kurute Nari Saubhagya Kamya. एवं व्रतंया कुरूते नारी सौभाग्य काम्यया।
	Saubhagya son-grandson-labhte sushthiram shriyam. सौभाग्यं पुत्रपौत्रादि लभते सुस्थिरां श्रियम्।।

 

What is the Parana of the Fast of Karva Chauth?

On this day, women offer Arghya (water) to the moon at moonrise in the evening. Thereafter, she breaks the fast by drinking water from her husband’s hands. After this, they break the fast by having sweet food along with the prasad of Karva Chauth. After the puja, she takes the blessings of all the elders of her house. Tamasic food like garlic, onion etc. is not consumed on this day.

What is the history of Karva Chauth fasting?

The tradition of fasting Karva Chauth has been going on since even before the Mahabharata period. In ancient Sanskrit texts, this festival is mentioned as ‘Karka Chaturthi‘.

Many folk tales are prevalent in relation to this fast. Lord Shankar had told Mata Parvati about this fast. By observing this fast, women protect their husbands from every impending crisis.

During the Mahabharata period, Draupadi observed this fast for her husband Arjuna. When Arjuna had gone to the Nilgiri mountain to do penance, Draupadi was very worried about him. One day Draupadi told Lord Krishna about her concern. Shri Krishna advised him to observe a fast of Karakasha Chaturthi (Karva Chauth). This tradition has been going on since then.

According to another tradition, this fast is named after a virtuous woman named Karva. According to this tradition, a woman named Karva had saved her husband’s life from Yamraj. Since then, that woman came to be known as ‘Karva Mata‘.

Modern scholars have the following views regarding the origin of this fast-

1.  Karva Chauth is mostly celebrated in northern India. One hypothesis is that male soldiers often went on military campaigns to distant places. They used to leave their wives and children at home. Their wives often prayed and fasted for their safe return.

2.  This festival also coincides with the time of sowing of wheat i.e. the beginning of Rabi crop cycle. Large earthen pots in which wheat is stored are also called karva. So, the fast may have started as a prayer for a good harvest in this northwestern region that mainly eats wheat.

What is the mythological and popular folklore of Karva Chauth?

There are many folk tales about the fasting of Karva Chauth. Some of the famous and popular folk tales are as follows –

Draupadi’s story

The tradition of this fast has been going on since before the Mahabharata period. It is said that Draupadi also kept this fast. Once Arjuna went to the Nilgiri Mountains for penance. Draupadi did not get any news of Arjun for many days. In his absence, the rest of the Pandavas had to face many problems. This worried Draupadi a lot. In desperation, she meditated on Lord Krishna and sought help.

Lord Krishna said – Once Mata Parvati had asked a similar question to Lord Shankar in similar circumstances and sought guidance. Then, Lord Shankar had told Mata Parvati the fast of Karva Chauth. Lord Shankar had said that women can save their husbands from every impending crisis by observing this fast methodically.

In some narrations of this story, Lord Shiva narrates the story of Veervati to Mother Parvati to describe the Karva Chauth fast. Draupadi followed the instructions and observed the fast with all her rituals. The result was that the Pandavas were able to overcome their problems.

Story of Queen Veervati

There was a beautiful queen named Veeravati. She was the only sister of seven brothers. His seven brothers loved her very much. They could not see her in pain at all. When she was a young woman, she was married off with a suitable groom.

After getting married, Veeravati celebrated her first ‘Karva Chauth’ at her parents’ house. He started a strict fast of ‘Karva Chauth‘ after sunrise. The ‘Karva Chauth‘ fast lasts from sunrise to moonrise, but by evening, she felt severe thirst and hunger. She was eagerly waiting for the moonrise.

Her seven brothers loved her very much. They had never seen their sister in such trouble.

Because they did not want to see him in trouble at all, so they made a mirror in a peepal tree in such a way that it appeared as if the moon had come out.

The sister mistook it for the moon and broke the fast. As soon as she took his first bite of food, she sneezed. She found hair in her second bite. After the third, she came to know that her husband Raja had died.

This incident broke her heart. She kept crying all night. Then, a goddess appeared before her. The goddess asked why she was crying.

When the queen narrated her ordeal to the goddess, the goddess revealed how her brothers had betrayed her. That goddess instructed her to repeat the fast of Karva Chauth with full devotion.

When Veeravati resumed her fast, Yama was forced to revive her husband.

Another version of this story is also found, according to this, the brothers arrange a huge fire behind a mountain and make their sister believe that the moon shines. She takes this as the moon and breaks her fast. After this, news is received that her husband had died. She immediately starts running towards her husband’s house. She goes some distance, and Shiva-Parvati stops her. Parvati reveals the deceit done by her brothers.

The wife pleads with Parvati. Parvati takes pity on that wife and gives life to her dead husband. Her husband is resurrected and they are reunited.

Story of Karva Mata

According to another tradition, Karva Chauth is named after a virtuous woman. According to this legend, there was a virtuous woman named Karva. She was highly devoted to her husband. Her intense love and dedication towards him gave her spiritual power. She lived with her husband in a village on the bank of a river.

One day, her husband was taking a bath in the river. Then, a crocodile grabbed his leg. The man started calling his wife Karva-Karva. Hearing his voice, his wife Karva ran and came and tied the crocodile with a raw thread.

After tying the crocodile with a raw thread, the woman reached Yamraj. She started saying to Yamraj, “O Lord! The crocodile has grabbed my husband’s leg. Catch that crocodile and take him to hell for the crime of grabbing my husband’s leg.”

Yamraj said, “But the crocodile has still alive, so I cannot kill him.” On hearing this Karva said, “If you do not do this, I will curse you and destroy you.”

Hearing this, Yamraj got scared and sent the crocodile to Yampuri (the abode of the Death-god) and blessed Karva‘s husband with a long life. Since then that woman came to be known as ‘Karva Mata‘.

What is Sargi?

Sargi is a plate of food which contains some food items. A woman observing this fast gets it as an omen. Fasting is observed throughout the day from sunrise to moonrise and then eaten only after worshiping the moon.

This ritual is often performed in the Punjab province. On the day of Karva Chauth, when any woman observes a fast, the mother-in-law of that woman makes a sargi for her.

Since the fast is started by eating sargi, there are such kind of things in the plate which reduce hunger and thirst and keeps energy throughout the day by eating them. So, the plate contains fruits and dry fruits etc.

The daughter-in-law starts her fast with a sargi given by her mother-in-law. If the mother-in-law is not with her, she sends money to the daughter-in-law for everything. Clothes, honey, fruits, nuts, coconut etc. are kept in this sargi.

It is a different fun to celebrate this festival in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Various Customs of Karva Chauth

Women observing this fast collectively sit in a circle. Worshiping Karva Chauth, they do ferries while singing songs, and rotate their plates in a circle.

After worshiping Karva Chauth, women observing the fast offer water (arghya) to the Moon.

Women start preparations for Karva Chauth a few days in advance, such as buying items of worship like karva, diya etc., makeup, jewelry, mathi, mehndi and decorated puja thali etc. In the local bazaars, shopkeepers display their Karva Chauth related products. At this time, there is a festive look in the markets.

On the eve of the festival in Uttar Pradesh, fasting women eat feni with sugar in milk. It is said that this helps them to live without water the next day.

The women of Punjab wake up on the day of the fast just before sunrise to eat and drink. In Punjab, Sargi has a lot of importance. It always involves fenia. It is a tradition to send or give sargi to a woman observing a fast by her mother-in-law. If she lives with her mother-in-law, the morning meal is prepared by the mother-in-law.

On this occasion, fasting women prefer to wear special clothes for Karva Chauth such as traditional sarees or lehengas. In some regions, women wear the traditional costumes of their states.

Fasting starts very early in the morning (from dawn). Women observing fast observe Nirjala Vrat i.e. do not eat food and drink even water for the whole day. In Hinduism, married women perform a variety of other rituals along with fasting for the long life of their husbands. Sant Garibdas Ji Maharaj says:

“Tell the story of Karuva Chauthi. Taas Gadhari Nischay Jani ||”

In some rural areas, gifts are exchanged. Parents often send gifts to their married daughters and their children.

In Uttar Pradesh, a priest or an elderly woman in the family narrates the folk tale of Veeravati etc. The women observing the fast make the idols of Mata Gauri, Ganesh and Lord Shankar out of clay and decorate them with colorful and bright clothes and ornaments. Exchanging karva seven times, they sing –

…… get married always, get husband’s sweetheart, take seven brothers’ sisters, get them to talk, get mother-in-law’s sweetheart ……

Thereafter, the fasting women offer bayana (pudding, puri, salty mathri, sweet mathri, etc.) to the idols and hand it over to their mother-in-law or sister-in-law.

Thus, after the completion of the phera ceremony, the women wait for the moon to rise. When the moon becomes visible, it is customary to look at the moon or its reflection depending on the region and community. Depending on the region and community, the fasting woman looks at the moon or its reflection in a vessel filled with water or through a sieve or through a cloth scarf.

Then, the woman looks at her husband’s face through the sieve. Water (Arghya) is offered to the moon god to get his blessings. In some regions, the woman says a brief prayer for her husband’s life. It is believed that on this occasion, the woman becomes spiritually strong by her fast and can successfully face death.

In Rajasthan, women say, “Like gold necklaces and pearl bracelets, may my sweetheart always shine like the moon!”

After that her husband takes water from the plate and gives it to his wife. Drinking the first sip of water during the day, she now breaks the fast. After this, the woman can have a full meal.

essence:-

In a nutshell, the women who observe this fast do the following things-

• Get up in the morning before sunrise. She consumes food mixed in the form of Sargi, drinks water and takes a vow of Nirjala fast by worshiping the Lord.
• In Karva Chauth, women do not take any food or water for the whole day, then after seeing the moon in the evening, they break the fast after seeing the moon.
• In the evening for worship, all the deities are established on an earthen altar and kept in it.
• Place incense, lamp, sandalwood, roli, vermilion in a plate and light a ghee lamp.
• One hour before the moon rises, she starts preparing for the puja.
• On this day women worship together.
• At the time of worship, she definitely listens or narrates the Karva Chauth story.
• After seeing the moon through a sieve, worship the moon by offering arghya.
• After seeing the moon, she breaks the fast by drinking water from her husband’s hand.
• On this day, daughters-in-law take blessings of their mother-in-law by giving them sweets, fruits, nuts, money etc.

Importance of Karva Chauth

There is a lot of enthusiasm among married women regarding Karva Chauth. This day is very special for married women. According to the beliefs, observing this fast leads to a happy married life and attains unbroken good fortune.

Context- The facts of this article have been taken from various Sanskrit and Hindi texts, traditions prevalent in the society, mythology, wikipedia , webdunia and zeenews.india.com .

FAQ

Question 1. When is Karva Chauth fasting this year?

Karva Chauth fast is observed every year on the Chaturthi Tithi of Krishna Paksha of Kartik month. This time this fast will be kept on 13 October 2022. This time a very auspicious coincidence is also happening on Karva Chauth.

Question 2. Why do women get mud done?

Women get the soil done because it can be disposed of. If there is no earthen karva then some women also use steel lotus.