Jaipur : Karva Chauth is an important festival for all married women. Wives observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety of their husbands. It is not easy to observe a fast for the whole day without drinking water or eating anything, but loving wives perform all these rituals with great love and respect for their husbands.
If we talk about the literal meaning of Karva Chauth, it means offering ‘Arghya’ to the moon using an earthen pot called Karva on the Chaturthi of Kartik month. This festival falls every year on the fourth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Kartik. Although the origin of this festival is still very obscure, there are some stories associated with it. Below are some popular Karva Chauth stories that explain the reason behind this celebration:
Karva Chauth story of Queen Veervati
Once upon a time there was a beautiful queen named Veeravati who was the only sister among seven loving and caring brothers. On her first Karva Chauth, she was at her parents’ house and started a rigorous fast after sunrise. In the evening, she was suffering from hunger and thirst and was eagerly waiting for the moonrise. His brothers felt very sad to see him suffering like this.
Therefore, he installed a mirror in a peepal tree which made it appear as if the moon was in the sky. Now as soon as Veeravati broke her fast, the news of her husband’s death came. She kept crying and was inconsolable. She immediately set out for home and on the way she met Goddess Parvati.
Mother Parvati told that her brothers had tricked her. Then, she observed the Karva Chauth fast with full devotion and seeing her dedication, Yama, the god of death, restored life to her husband. This Karva Chauth story of Queen Veeravati is very popular and usually women observing fast listen to it.
Karva Chauth Story of Queen Draupadi: The next story in our list of Karva Chauth story is based on Arjun and Draupadi of Mahabharata. Once Arjuna, whom Draupadi loved most, went to the Nilgiri Mountains for self-punishment. Because of this, the remaining brothers were facing challenges without him.
Now Draupadi remembered Lord Krishna in this situation and asked what should be done to solve the challenges. Lord Krishna narrated a story of Goddess Parvati, who (in a similar situation) had performed the Karva Chauth ritual. Therefore, Draupadi followed the strict rituals of Karva Chauth for the well-being of her husband and the Pandavas solved their problems.
Story of Karva Chauth Story of Karva: There was a woman named Karva who loved her husband very much and this intense love gave her a lot of spiritual powers. Once when her husband went to take bath in the river, he was attacked by a crocodile.
Now the courageous Karva tied the crocodile with cotton thread and remembered Yama; Lord of death. She prayed to Yamraj to give life to her husband and death penalty to the crocodile. He said that he was afraid that he would not be able to do this. However, Karva in return threatened to curse Lord Yama and destroy Yamdev. Yama was gravely afraid of being cursed by such a devoted and kind wife and thus he sent the crocodile to hell and gave life back to her husband.
This Karva Chauth story is still told today and married women pray to Karva Mata for the well-being and happiness of their husbands. Karva Chauth Story of Satyavan and Savitri: It is said that when Yama, the god of death, came to take the life of Satyavan, Savitri begged Yama to give him life.
But Yama remained adamant and saw that Savitri had stopped eating and drinking and followed Yama as he was carrying her husband. Yama now told Savitri that she could ask for any boon except the life of her husband.
Being a very intelligent woman, Savitri asked Yama that she wanted to be blessed with children and since she was a devoted and loyal wife, she would not allow any kind of adultery. Thus, Yama had to restore life to Satyavan so that Savitri could have children.
Women and girls observing fast on the day of Karva Chauth do not forget to listen to the Karva Chauth story of Savitri. Apart from this, listening to all the stories of Karva Chauth also emphasizes the importance of this fast and how ancient this festival is.
Why do we celebrate Karva Chauth?
Looking at the above Karva Chauth story, you must now be well acquainted with the fact why this festival holds immense importance in Hindu culture. The prominence of this festival can be seen widely in the northern and northwestern regions of our country. A large part of the male population of these areas were soldiers of the Indian Army and officers of the military forces and for the safety of these people, the women of these areas started fasting. These armed forces, policemen, soldiers and army personnel used to protect the country from the enemies and women used to pray to God for the long life of their men.
The timing of this festival coincides with the beginning of Rabi crop season which is the sowing season of wheat in these above mentioned areas. Women of the families fill wheat grains in earthen pots or karwa and offer them to God praying for a good Rabi season.
In ancient India, women of 10-13 years of age were married. In such a marriage they would hardly be able to enjoy their childhood or early adolescence. In those days communication was also a big hurdle. Therefore, they could not easily come to their parents’ house and it was also not considered good. Therefore, from an early age, a woman had to take full responsibility of the new home. He was responsible for everything from cooking to cleaning. But, she was completely alone in an unknown house, away from her loved ones and without any friends. Where will she go when she feels alone or homesick? Therefore, to solve this problem, women started celebrating Karva Chauth in a grand manner, where married women from the entire village and some nearby villages would gather at 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 to have fun and to forget the fact that they are alone in their in-laws’ house. They celebrated their union on this day and reminded each other by gifting bangles, lipstick, vermilion etc. that there is always a friend somewhere. In recent times, husbands also fast for their wives. Have started keeping. This gesture has made the festival extra special as it symbolizes love, understanding and compassion from both sides.
