Gangaur 2023: Date, Time, Significance & Rituals To Observe The Fast

Gangaur is one of India’s most prominent and popular festivals. It is an 18-day celebration to commemorate Goddess Gauri, Lord Shiva’s consort. The Gangaur festival begins the day after Holi and lasts until the third day of Chaitra Shukla Paksha. Natives organize many cultural events throughout all the towns and communities during the 16-day Gangaur Teej celebrations. In various areas of Rajasthan where Goddess Parvati is called Teej Mata, ladies visit one another and share presents and sweet treats. There is a festive atmosphere, and the women dress in vibrant attire. Know when to observe fast for Gangaur 2023 and how to keep the Vrat with appropriate rituals.

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To receive blessings from the Devi Parvati, the newlyweds adopt a half-day fasting regimen when they consume just one meal in the entire day. On the 7th day, young and unmarried women sing and carry lit lamps while carrying earthen pots. Their parents and elders have given them nice gifts, which is a blessing. 

On the final day, married women get gifts from their parents and brothers before going back to their husbands. The presents may include jewelry, clothing, and other stuff for the daughter and her family. It is known as Sinjara. The festival’s last day marks the conclusion of several days of festivities and celebrations. People carry the Gods’ idols in a procession to a public location, such as a lake or well, where they immerse the idols in water. 

Gangaur 2023: Date & day of the Shiv-Gauri festival

Gangaur 2023 will be on Wednesday, March 8. From that date, married females will continue to observe fast until Friday, March 24, 2023. This celebration typically lasts 18 days. The Tritiya Tithi will begin on March 23, 2023, at 06:20 PM. It will end on March 24, 2023, at 04:59 PM. For the duration, people decorate and worship clay Shiva-Gauri idols.

Significance of Gangaur festival in Hinduism

This festival is about celebrating marriage and love while paying homage to the Goddess Gauri or Parvati. Both married and single women participate in the festivities with vigor, sculpt clay statues of Shiva and Parvati, dress them elegantly, pray to them, maintain a day-long fast for marital bliss, and make delicious meals for the family. 

For the Rajasthani people, Goddess Parvati stands for perfection and marital love. Hence the Gangaur festival is very significant to them. The festival also celebrates the harvest and the coming of spring. Folks make two idols, Gan, representing Lord Shiva, and Gaur, representing Goddess. According to tradition, Gauri’s intense devotion and meditation helped her win Lord Shiva’s love and favor. So, females make up the idol to show their devotion towards their marriage and love for their husband.

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How to observe Gangaur fast in 2023?

As per Hinduism, devotees follow and celebrate the Gangaur festival in their ways. However, there are some rituals women must follow during the Gangaur in 2023:

• Place Clay statues of Lord Shiva (Isar) and Goddess Parvati (Gauri) into the grass and flower-filled baskets.
• Execute Gangaur rituals while singing Gangaur songs while germinating wheat and barley seeds takes place in an earthen pot.
• Newlywed women must observe an 18-day fast. Single women can also fast for 18 days and only eat once every day.
• Unmarried females should march while singing Gangaur songs and wear “Ghudlia” (an earthen pot with lamps inside it) on the evening of the 7th day after Holi.
• Women should decorate their feet and palms with mehndi or henna on the second last day. Married ladies must wear the clothing and jewels their parents provide them as “Sinjara.”
• Carry images of Isar and Gauri on your heads in a street parade for the last two days. Post that, return to your houses singing Gangaur’s parting songs. 
• Girls should break their earthen pots and finally immerse the pictures of Isar and Gauri in the water as part of the procession that transports them to the well or tank on the last day.
• There are several different savory and sweet snacks, including ghevar, kheer, barfi, and others. After the puja, sweets are given to the devotees or served as prasad.

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Gangaur Vrat Katha 

Goddess Gauri is the personification of purity and discipline. Devotees believe that Gauri attracted the affection and attention of Lord Shiva by demonstrating her devotion to the Lord and through meditation. 

The Gangaur vrat katha has several variations. In a different version of the Gangaur puja katha, Goddess Parvati visits her parent’s home. Returning to her husband’s home, she was given a magnificent send-off by her family and loved ones, which commemorates the Gangaur festival. Lord Shiva himself came to accompany her back home and be the epitome of devotion, Goddess Parvati persuaded Lord Shiva to wed her through her extensive penance and devotion.

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How to celebrate the Gangaur 2023? 

One of Rajasthan’s most significant celebrations is Gangaur. Moreover, various areas of Gujarat, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh commemorate this. Every celebration in Rajasthan is vibrant and colorful, as one would expect. However, this festival honoring the Goddess Gauri, which is celebrated by lovely Rajasthani women dressed in traditional garb, is especially noteworthy as a cultural experience.

Gangaur honors both the harvest season and the union of the divine pair Shiva and Gauri. Combining the names Gana for Shiva and Gowri or Parvathi, Gangaur denotes worship of both deities. As per the local Hindu customs, devotees of Shiva-Gauri celebrate the festival with joy, happiness, and devotion.

The departure of Gauri

In the procession held at auspicious hours, females suit up the gods, wedded ladies carry Goddess Gauri’s idol on their heads, and they sing farewell songs. The Devi Parvati idol is brought home for the first two days. Females move the idols on their heads during the procession’s third and final day. On this particular day, the Bridegroom-Shankara ascends to heaven with his wife Devi Parvati. Devotees bid Gangaur a tearful farewell, vowing to celebrate it with greater fervor and splendor in the years to come.

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