🌼 Karva Chauth 🌼

💐 Significance of Karwa Chauth 💐

                            Another name for Karwa Chauth is Karak Chaturthi. The word Chauth signifies the fourth day, whereas Karwa refers to earthen pots. The idea behind celebrating this day is to imitate Goddess Parvati, who fasted in order to win Lord Shiva’s hand in marriage. Married ladies observe this fast in order to secure the health of their spouses and a long-lasting union. The family is also said to benefit from good fortune and wealth during the fast. 

  
                          The northern regions of India, which include Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan, are major celebrators of the one-day event. Hindu married ladies offer prayers to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesha, and Karwa Mata in hopes that their husbands may live long lives. 

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🍀 Karwa Chauth Puja Vidhi 🍀

• On the day of Karwa Chauth fast, wake up early in the morning and take a bath, wear clean clothes and take a vow to fast. 
    
• After this, draw a picture of Karva with ochre on the walls of the house with clean hands. After doing sixteen adornments, keep the picture of Mother Parvati, Lord Shiva, Ganeshji, Kartikeya at the place of worship.
    
• Fill a Karva with water and place it at the place of worship and fill it with water.
    
• After this, offer Arghya to the Sun and listen to the story of Chauth Mata. After the completion of the story, touch the feet of the elders and seek blessings.
    
• Prepare a plate for worship for the evening, then place a picture of Karva Mata on a stool, after that light a lamp.
    
• Worship Gaura Parvati, Chauth Mata and the entire Shiva family. Listen to the story of Karva Chauth and pray in your mind for the long life of your husband.
    
• After the moon rises, offer water to the moon and look at the moon by placing a burning diya on the surface of the sieve, then look at your husband’s face through it.
    
• After looking at the moon, pray for your husband’s long life, then break the fast by drinking water from your husband’s hands. After taking blessings from all the elders of the house, give the Karwa to your mother-in-law or any married woman, and touch their feet.
  
  

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🌻 Karwa Chauth Puja Samagri🌻 

• For the worship of Karwa Chauth, a spouted pot (earthen or copper pot with lid), Kalash, roli, kumkum, mauli, rice grains. 
   
• Paan, book of Vrat Katha, curd, sugar powder, sandalwood, flowers, turmeric, rice, sweets 
    
• Desi ghee, perfume, coconut, sacred thread, abir, gulaal, honey, dakshina, raw milk. 
  
  
• Sieve, camphor, wheat, wick (cotton), picture of Karwa Mata, lamp, incense sticks, wooden seat, halwa, athavari of eight puris. 
    
• Sargi – all the 16 makeup items, dry fruits, fruits, sweets. 
   
• 16 makeup items – kumkum, mehndi, mahavar, sindoor, comb, bindi, chunari, bangles, kajal, bichua, black pot. 

 
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🍁 Importance of Karwa, sieve, lamp, skein on Karwa Chauth🍁

                        

Karwa – Karwa is considered to be the symbol of Ganapati. It is said that the spout of Karwa is considered to be the trunk of Ganesha. Performing Puja by filling water in Karwa and offering Arghya to the moon fulfils auspicious wishes. 

  
Lamp – On the day of Karwa Chauth fast, women keep a lamp in a sieve and look at the moon and then at their husband’s face. According to the scriptures, lighting a lamp removes negativity and increases concentration. 

  
Brass skein – A brass skein is inserted into the spout of Karwa. It is believed that this skein shows power. According to the story, a crocodile had caught hold of Karwa’s husband’s leg, at that time she tied the crocodile with these skeins with her power and reached Yamraj. At that time Chitragupta was looking at the account of Karwa Mata’s life. Then Karwa separated the context of her husband from the pages of Chitragupta with the skeins and prayed to Yamraj to protect her husband’s life. 

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🌞 Who Should Avoid Karwa Chauth Fasting 🌞

  
Pregnant women– During pregnancy, the body of women undergoes many changes. Fasting during this time can be harmful to health. Pregnant women need a lot of nutrition, which cannot be fulfilled by fasting. Also, staying without water for the whole day can be harmful for both the baby and the mother. 

  
Breastfeeding women– Breastfeeding women should also not fast. Because the mother needs the right amount of nutrition to keep the baby healthy, but fasting can cause lack of nutrition in the body, which can affect the health of the mother as well as the child. 

 
Diabetes– Women who have diabetes should also not fast. Fasting does not keep the blood sugar level under control. This can cause problems for them. Too low a sugar level can also be dangerous. 

 
Heart disease– Women who have any heart related problems should not keep the fast of Karva Chauth. Staying without food and water for the whole day causes the arteries to shrink, due to which the BP increases. This condition can prove fatal. 

  
Physical weakness– Fasting is also not good for women who are underweight or have any deficiency disease like anemia. 

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🔶 Why do We Celebrate Karwa Chauth?🔶

                     The prominence of this festival can be widely observed in the North and North Western regions of our country. A massive chunk of the male population of these regions were the soldiers of the Indian Army and officials of the Military Forces and for the safety of these people, women of these regions started fasting. These armed forces, policemen, soldiers, and military personnel protected the country from enemies and the women used to pray to God for the longevity of their men. The time of this festival coincides with the initiation of the Rabi cropping season which is the wheat sowing season in these aforementioned areas. The women of the families fill the earthen pot or Karwa with wheat grains and offer them to God praying for a great Rabi season. 

  
                        In ancient India, women of 10-13 years of age were married. Hardly they could enjoy their childhood or early teenage in such a marriage. Communication was also a big obstacle in those days. So, they couldn’t come to their parent’s homes easily and it was also not considered good. So, from an early age, a woman had to take full responsibility for a new household. From cooking to cleaning, she was the in-charge. But, she was all alone away from her loved ones in an unknown house and without any friends too. Where would she go while feeling alone or missing home? So, to resolve this problem, the women started celebrating Karwa Chauth in a grand way where married women of the whole village and some nearby villages used to congregate in one place and spend the day in joy and laughter.

                         They befriended each other and called each other God-friends or God-sisters. One can say that this festival started as a means of enjoyment and to forget the fact that they are alone at their in-laws’ place. They celebrated the union among themselves on this day and gifted each other bangles, lipsticks, sindoor, etc. to remind each other that there is always a friend somewhere. 

  
                     In recent times, husbands have also started observing fasts for their wives. The gesture has made the festival extra-special as it signifies love, understanding and compassion from both ends. 

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Mantras of Karwa Chauth

 

 Mantras of Ganesh worship: 

  
ऊँ एकदंताय नम:॥
Om Ekadantay Namah. 
    

ऊँ वक्रतुंडाय नम: ॥
Om Vakratundaya Namah.

ऊँ गं गणपतयै नम: ॥
Om Gan Ganpatayai Namah.

 
Mantras of worship of Lord Shiva 

ऊँ नम: शिवाय:॥
Om Namah: Shivay.

ऊँ रुद्राय नम:॥
Om Rudray Namah.
 

ऊँ तत्पुरुषाय नम:॥
Om Tatpurushaya Namah: 

 
 Karva Chauth Mata Mantras 

  
ऊँ चतुर्थी देव्यै नम: ॥
Om Chaturthi Devyai Namah.

ऊँ गौर्ये नम:॥
Om Gaurye Namah.

ऊँ शिवायै नम:॥
Om Shivay Namah. 

  ऊँ नम: शिवायै शर्वाण्यै सौभाग्यं संतति शुभाम्। 

प्रयच्छ भक्तियुक्तानां नारीणां हरवल्लभे ॥

Om Namah: Shivaayi Sharvanyai Saubhagyam Santati Shubham.

Praychch Bhaktiyuktaanaam Narinaam Harvallabhe ॥

Say this mantra and salute:

  
नमो देव्यै महादेव्यै शिवायै सततं नम:।  

नम: प्रकृत्यै भद्रायै नियता: प्रणता: स्मृताम्॥ 

Namo Devyai Mahadevyai Shivayai Satavatam Namah.

Namah Prakrityai Bhadraayai Niyataah Pranatah Smritaam.

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💐Conclusion 💐
              

                         Karwa Chauth is a festival that celebrates the beauty of marriage and the selfless love between a husband and wife. It’s a special day for women to express their dedication and prayers for their husband’s long life and prosperity. 

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