The boulevard of marriage is a voyage of one spirit with two hearts. May the sight of the Karva Chauth moon fills your heart and married life with love & bliss
Karva Chauth or Karwa Chauth is one of the main Hindu festivals, especially for wedded women. It is a fasting festival that married women celebrate by observing fast for well being of their husbands. In Hindu culture, this festival holds the foremost credence of all the married women. In addition to being one of the most important, it is one of the toughest fasts to observe.
Karva Chauth is an annual one day festival of Hindu culture. On this day, married women observe fast and perform rituals for the long life of their husbands. The day of Karva Chauth is dedicated to women to their husbands. This day has an association of celebrating the joy of wifehood. Hindu women who observe the festivity of Karva Chauth are called “Saubhagyavati”. In accordance with the Hindu calendar, the festival of Karva Chauth comes on KrishnaPaksha which is the fourth day of the waning moon in the month of Karthik. According to the Gregorian calendar, the festivity falls in the month of October or November every year.
In olden times, many people didn’t have much acknowledgment about Karva Chauth and as of lately, the celebration has received more religious belief and touch.
Alongside this, the day of Karva Chauth has the significance of celebrating the season of autumn. The celebration majorly takes place in the northern states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana.
Karva Chauth is a festival of love and dedication. The word Karva means earthen “pot” and Chauth means “fourth” which refers to the fourth day of the month of Karthik.
On this day, married women across the globe observe a fast from the sunrise to the moonrise and later in the evening, they break the fast by drinking water from their husband’s hand. These days, many unmarried girls also observe fast to get a husband of their dreams.
Karva Chauth is a day to celebrate sisterhood. In ancient times, girls marry at a young age. To evade the feeling of being friendless, people conduct a small function where a woman promises the bride to be her soul sister.
India is a country with significant values for culture and festivals. Starting from the east and ending to the west, there is a great number of Hindu festivals. However, the northern portion of the country observes a vibrant celebration of Karwa Chauth.
The idea behind the celebration of this festival is to pray for the prosperity, health, and happiness of the family. This festival occurs a few days prior to the celebration of Deepawali. This day is the celebration of the beautiful bond of a wedded couple.
Along with this, the month of Karthik is the time of harvest so people also pray for a good harvest on this occasion.
There are numerous tales behind the origin of this festival. Here are some of the popular legends-
The origin of Karva draws an association with the legend of Karva. In accordance with the tales, Karva, a married woman loves her husband. One day, as her husband goes for taking bath in the river a crocodile catches him.
Karva rushes to the river when she hears her husband screaming. Realizing the situation, she bounds the crocodile in the cotton yarn. Right after this, she runs to Yama, the lord of death. She begs in front of him to save her husband and send the crocodile to hell.
At first, Yama refuses to fulfill her request. However, when she threatens him to curse him, Yama obliges. He sends the crocodile to hell and saves Karva’s husband.
This makes the festival of Karva Chauth an imperative celebration of the bond of love shared by every husband and wife.
This is another popular tale of undying loyalty & love of the relationship of every husband and wife. The tale of Savitri andSatyavan is extremely popular among people.
The story mentions, one day Lord Yama comes to take away Satyavan’s life. In that instance, Savitri begs in front of Lord Yama to spare Satyavan’s life. However, he denies carrying out her wish.
As a result, Savitri gives up food and water and reaches to an unhealthy state. This makes Lord Yama feeling bad for Savitri and he grants her to wish anything except the life of her husband. Upon this, Savitri wishes for children which compel Lord Yama to bring Satyavan back to life.
Women start preparing for the festival a few days prior to the festival. The major custom of this festival involves worshipping the moon. On this day, women across the country wake before the dawn, take a bath and wear fresh clothes.
Every woman receives special foodstuffs and offerings for the day of Karva Chauth from their mother-in-law. This special offering is known as “Sargi”. It includes- milk, paneer, nuts, sweets, and fruits. Later, women eat those offerings and begin their fast. The meal of “Sargi” is consumed by the women in a group. All the women gather together, sing songs, put Mehandi (henna), and consume Sargi.
The fast begins with the sunrise. After eating the Sargi, women do not consume water and food for the entire day and until the moon rises. Later, as the moon appears, the women call off the fast. Women of all the community gather on the terrace and observe the moon through a colander and then see their husbands. In return, husbands offer water and sweets to their wives and open their fast.
Karva Chauth is a festival with a vital association with delicious offerings. After the tough one day long “Nirajal” fast, women eat delectable offerings by their husbands.
Here are the significant dishes and drinks from the celebration of Karva Chauth-
Sweets- Kheer, Mal Pua, Rawa Halwa, Badam Halwa, Moong Dal Halwa, and Sewai.
Drinks- Jal Jeera, Lassi, Chhach, and Sherbat.
Snacks- Samosa with Coriander Chutney and Cucumber Raita.
Meals- Mixed Veggies, Amristari Chhole-Kulche, Dum Aloo, and Jeera Rice.
The festival of Karva Chauth has a unique belief among people. In ancient times, it was a prayer. Nonetheless, as of the recent era, it is more of a communal celebration. Women across the globe pray for their husband’s well being and opulence on this day.
Largely the western and northern parts of India celebrate the festival of Karva Chauth. The state of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat observe a great festivity on this day.
Apart from this, countries like Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and Australia also celebrate the festival of Karva Chauth with great zeal.
On this day, people fast for seeking blessings of Lord Ganesha because Karva Chauth happens together with Sankashti Chaturthi.
This day is also known to people as Karak Chaturthi. So, people perform watering the moon. The ritual of presenting water to the moon is called Argha.
The festival of Karva Chauth falls on Sunday, 24th October.
Next Five Years-
| Day | Date | Year |
| Thursday | 17th October | 2019 |
| Wednesday | 4th November | 2020 |
| Sunday | 24th October | 2021 |
| Thursday | 13th October | 2022 |
| Wednesday | 1st November | 2023 |
| Wednesday | 20th October | 2024 |
You may also like to know about the Harvest Festival of India.
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