Karva Chauth

Karwa Chauth is a traditional Hindu festival for married women, and is celebrated in some parts of India.
Hindu marriage introduces the privileges, rights and responsibilities of a husband and wife towards each other. In a traditional Hindu family, husband is the earner and the protector of the family whereas the various duties of a wife involves proper care, nurturing, education and continuity of cultural heritage of the family for future generations. There are various fast (Vrat) a Hindu married woman keep to show her respect and affection for her husband and at the same time pray to god for a healthy and prosperous marital life.

Having an extraordinary observance rate among married Hindu women, the fast of Karwa Chouth is undertaken by married woman seeking the welfare and prosperity of their husbands.

The festival of Karwa Chouth is celebarated throughout North India in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi and others.

The fast of Karwa Chauth is kept 9 days before Diwali. It falls on the fourth day of the Kartik month by the Hindu calendar (fourth day of the waning moon or the dark fortnight).

Karwa Chauth is considered one of the most important fasts observed by the married Hindu women. On this day the women pray for the welfare and long life of their husbands.
Married women eat food early in the morning, before sunrise. They are not supposed to eat or even drink water during the day. In the evening the ladies listen to the Karwa Chauth Katha (the legend). The fast is over after the moonrise.

The traditional Indian calendar is one long pageant of colorful festivals, a colorful mosaic of festivals, fairs and fasts as diverse as the land itself. The festival and fast of Karva Chauth is celebrated with much exuberance and fanfare. It is considered an important and auspicious day for married women. A married woman celebrates this day with great fervor and dedication, by observing a fast and praying for the long life of her husband. The fast is observed during the month of Kartik on the fourth day of Krishna Paksha (descending moon). This generally falls in the month of October.

The earliest reference of a Karva Chauth can be found in the great epic of Mahabharata. As per Mahabharata, Arjun, a supreme warrior and one of the Pandavas, went to the Nilgiri Hills to offer his prayers and worship the gods. Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, was accompanying him. On the way, Draupadi was struck with fear believing that she was alone in the forest with no one to protect her. As she treated Lord Krishna as her Brother, she invoked him to appear before her and help her out of this grave situation.

On listening to her fear and perplexity, Lord Krishna cited an example of Goddess Parvati. Parvati in a similar situation asked Lord Shiva's help. Lord Shiva explained to her that to ward off such apprehensions, a woman could observe a fast on Kartik Krishna Chaturthi as a remedy. Lord Krishna advised Draupadi to undertake this fast and also assured her of he victory of the Pandavas. Women also pray to Lord Ganesha for the fulfillment of all their wishes.

The Story Of Queen Veeravati

A long long time ago, there lived a beautiful girl by the name of Veeravati. She was the only sister of her seven loving brothers, who was married to a king. On the occasion of the first Karva Chauth after her marriage, she went to her parents' house. After sunrise, she observed a strict fast. However, the queen couldn't stand the rigors of fasting and was desperatly waiting for the moon to rise. The seven brothers who loved her dearly, were very disturbed watching the distress of their sister and decided to end her fast by deceiving her. Then the brothers reflected a mirror through Pipal tree leaves. The sister, taken it as moon rise, broke the fast and took food. However, the moment the queen ate her dinner, she received the news that her husband, the king, was seriously ill.

The queen rushed to her husband's palace and on the way, she met Lord Shiva and his consort, Goddess Parvati. Parvati informed her that the king had died because the queen had broken her fast by watching a false moon. However, when the queen asked her for forgiveness, the goddess granted her the boon that the king would be revived. But to achieve this, she would have to undertake the Karva Chauth fast under strict rituals, then only her husband would come top life. Thus, by strictly following all the rituals of Karva chauth, queen Veeravati relivened her husband

The Story Of Satyavan and Savitri

There is the story of the Satyavan and Savitri. When Lord Yama, came to procure Satyavan's soul, Savitri begged him to grant him life. When he refused, she stopped eating and drinking and Yamraj finally relented. He granted her, her husband's life. To this day, Karva Chauth is celebrated with great faith and belief.

The Legend Of Karva

According to another legend, a woman named Karva was deeply devoted to her husband. One day while bathing, he was caught by a crocodile. Karva came running and bound the crocodile with a cotton yarn. She then went to Yama, the Lord of the death, and requested him to send the offending crocodile to hell. When Yama refused, she threatened to curse him. Afraid of the power of a devoted wife, Yama readily accepted and sent the crocodile to Yamalok or hell, and blessed Karva's husband with long life.

Hindus have always believed in worshiping the Male and Female aspect of God together and that Sri Ram was a staunch devoted husband. Not only that, one says "Seeta Ram and Radha Krishna" giving the female name the precedence. As the name signifies, Karva meaning a clay pot and chauth corresponding to the fourth, this festival is commemorated on the fourth day after the Full Moon in Kartik month of Hindu calendar. The fast of Karwa Chauth is kept 9 days before Diwali.

A few days before Karva Chauth, married women buy new karvas, the spherical clay pots and paint them on the outside with beautiful designs. Inside the pot, they put bangles and ribbons, home-made candy and sweets, make-up items and small clothes e.g. handkerchief.
The preparations for this festival start a week in advance. Appointments are made with beauty parlours, hands are decorated with intricate mehendi designs.

My first Karwa Chauth:

Before pooja look (those young women, who are keeping their first Karva Chauth, very often wear their wedding dress plus special chunni (veil) for Karva Chauth. As you can see, I am wearing my bridal lehenga and my palms are decorated with mehendi:



After pooja look:



The Moon pooja. Offering water to the Moon:

îãî!!!! ñóïåðñêèå ôîòêè!!!!

Thanx

è î÷åíü èíôîðìàòèâíûé òîïèê

Civetta wrote:

è î÷åíü èíôîðìàòèâíûé òîïèê

äà, ñïàñèáî íàøåé Ðàíè, îíà âñåãäà î÷åíü êðàñèâî âñå îôîðìëÿåò è çàìå÷àòåëüíî èíôîðìàöèþ ïîäáèðàåò

yulika wrote:

Civetta wrote:

è î÷åíü èíôîðìàòèâíûé òîïèê

äà, ñïàñèáî íàøåé Ðàíè, îíà âñåãäà î÷åíü êðàñèâî âñå îôîðìëÿåò è çàìå÷àòåëüíî èíôîðìàöèþ ïîäáèðàåò

äàà, ýòîãî ó íåå íå îòíÿòü

Civetta wrote:

yulika wrote:

Civetta wrote:

è î÷åíü èíôîðìàòèâíûé òîïèê

äà, ñïàñèáî íàøåé Ðàíè, îíà âñåãäà î÷åíü êðàñèâî âñå îôîðìëÿåò è çàìå÷àòåëüíî èíôîðìàöèþ ïîäáèðàåò

äàà, ýòîãî ó íåå íå îòíÿòü

ÄÀ!!!!!!