Karwa Chauth - A Traditional Festival of Married Women

Karwa Chauth is an auspicious festival celebrated among married women in northern India. This festival is typically celebrated immediately after the autumn harvest and is celebrated nine days before Diwali, immediately after Dusshera.

Karwa Chauth is also known as Karak Chaturthi, and literally, Karwa means clay pot, while Chauth means fourth. Karwa Chauth commemorates the fourth day following the full moon in the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar (October-November). It refers to the earthenware pot through which water offerings are made to the moon.

It is one of the many Hindu holidays, and married women fast on this occasion for the longevity, prosperity, and well-being of their husbands. The fast is traditionally observed in the states of Rajasthan, part of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab.

Normally, women observing this fast are called Saubhagyavati, which means joyous and happy state of the wife and during the fast married women receive visit and company from relatives and friends and parents send various gifts to their married daughters.

Origin of Karwa Chauth

There are various ancient legends associated with the festival of Karva Chauth. These tales or stories tell of sacrifices women made for their husbands and how their love is pure and eternal.

According to one such legend, there was a beautiful queen named Veervati who had seven brothers and was married to a handsome king. During the first year of her marriage, she observed her first Karva Chauth by observing a strict fast.

As night approached, she began to feel uneasy due to intense thirst and hunger, but she refused to eat or drink anything. Her brothers could no longer watch her suffer and decided to do something about it. They created a mirror from the pipal tree in their courtyard and tricked Veervati into believing the moon had risen. She believed it and broke her fast, but unfortunately, shortly thereafter, news arrived that her beloved husband had died.

Veervati was completely devastated and began running towards her husband's house. Along the way, she was stopped by Shiva and Parvati, who explained how her brothers had deceived her. Parvati cut her finger and gave Veervati a few drops of her holy blood, warning him to be careful during the upcoming fasts. Veervati sprinkled the holy blood on her husband's corpse, and he miraculously returned to life. Thus, Veervati was reunited with her husband through her immense love, sacrifice, and devotion.

The main origin of this fast is that in the past, husbands engaged in military campaigns would be away for long periods, leaving their wives and children at home. Expectant wives prayed for their husbands' safe return, and fasting was part of the prayer.

The festival of Karwa Chauth is also linked to the cycles of the earth because after the harvest comes the sowing season, and karwa are the earthenware pots where rice was usually stored. Fasting was therefore understood as part of a prayer for a successful sowing and a fruitful future harvest.

Fasting and rituals

According to tradition, the fast begins before dawn and ends only after offering prayers and worshiping the moon at night. During the fast, no food or water is allowed. The fast is broken once the moon has been sighted and the day's rituals have been performed. Therefore, in the evening, when the moon appears, women break their fast after offering water to the moon.

Women begin preparing a few days beforehand by purchasing personal adornments such as henna, bracelets, and jewelry, puja items, lamps, tea lights, and so on. The practice begins around 4 a.m. Before beginning the fast, women recite a short morning prayer, usually followed by sargi, a plate of food containing dried fruit, paratha, curry, and coconut water.

Women eat sargi after bathing, as it is believed to be a healthy meal that prepares them for the day's fast. It keeps them energized and allows them to go without food or water for the entire day. Then begins the fast of no food and no water, which ends after worshiping the moon, which usually rises around 8:45 p.m.

Fasting women gather in groups and tell mythological stories about the significance of Karwa Chauth. Around 4:00–5:00 PM, preparations for the evening pooja begin . For the evening, women wear special attire: magnificent chunris, kurtas, or pink or red saris with gold-woven patterns. Newlyweds wear their wedding dresses and have henna mehndi designs applied to their hands and bindis on their foreheads.

The eldest woman or the housewife herself prepares a suitable place in the pooja room, if it's large enough to accommodate all the women invited. Otherwise, the best place is a veranda or an open courtyard, especially since the weather during this season is generally mild and not cold.

Finally, when the moon rises and the women see the moon's reflection in a thaali of water, they perform a pooja, invoking their husband's longevity and prosperity, and finally break their fast. At the end, the women try to see the moon through a sieve and try to glimpse their husbands through the same sieve. It is believed that when a wife looks at her husband through a sieve, all negative emotions are filtered through it.

The holiday has been popularized by its depiction in various Bollywood films and TV shows, and is considered a romantic holiday, symbolizing the love between husband and wife. It is celebrated not only in northern India but is spreading throughout the country. In recent years, many men have also begun observing fasts for their wives, making Karwa Chauth even more special as it signifies love, compassion, and understanding.