Karwa Chauth is celebrated every year to seek marital harmony and longevity. It’s an important festival for married couples, symbolising devotion and love for each other. Married women observe a Nirjala Vrat, fasting without water, from sunrise to moonrise for the long life of their husbands. They break the fast by looking at the moon through a sieve and then at their husbands. The day is full of festive celebrations with women observing the fast, gathering together, participating in the puja, and listening to the vrat katha.

What is the Vrat Katha

According to the Drik Panchang, Veeravati was born to Brahmin Vedsharma in Indraprasthapur. She had seven brothers who deeply loved her, as she was the only sister. She married and fasted for her husband on Karwa Chauth. However, the fasting was physically overwhelming for her, and she fainted due to hunger.

Her brothers, unable to see their sister in physical discomfort, devised a plan. They knew Veeravati wouldn’t break the fast unless she saw a moon. The brother climbed a tall vat tree with a lamp and a sieve. The lamp would mimic the moon. When Veeravati came to her senses, the brothers convinced her that the moon had already risen and took her to the roof. In her weakened physical condition, she saw the lamp through the sieve and believed it was the moon.

She broke her fast but as soon as she ate her first meal, she encountered numerous bad omens that signaled impending misfortune. In the first morsel of food, she found a hair. She sneezed when she had her second bite. And before the third bite, she received an unexpected call to return to her in-laws' home. Upon arrival, Veeravati was devastated to find her husband had died.

Veeravati wept uncontrollably, blaming herself for her husband’s death. Hearing her cries, Goddess Indrani, the wife of Lord Indra, appeared before her. She requested the Goddess to resurrect her husband. The Goddess reminded the mistake of breaking the fast before time and not providing argha (offering) to the moon. It caused her husband’s death. To bring him back, the Goddess advised her to observe a fast every month for a year to gain punya to revive her husband. After dutifully fasting for almost a year, her husband came back to life.

Significance

This katha represents a wife’s strength and devotion to her husband. It exhibits the power of unwavering commitment, faith, and steadfast resolve in the face of adversity. The marital bond is not only emotional but also spiritual, and through such devotion, the longevity of marital life can be safeguarded. The bond between husband and wife is strengthened by performing the rituals of Karwa Chauth. And listening to the Vrat Katha with devotion helps gain the benevolent blessing from the holy Katha, further enhancing the benefits of the puja and day-long fast.

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