History, Significant and Ceremony of Karwa Chauth

Karwa Chauth is known as Sankashti Chaturthi as on this day all the hurdles and problems can be eliminated. Karwa Chauth is a very important festival for married women in our culture; this is celebrated on the fourth day of the Krishna Paksh of ashwini month after the Sharad Purnima. Married women fast for the safety of their husband the entire day. They do not drink water and consume food from the sunrise till the moon rise and so this is called Narjal Vrat as well. The meaning of Karwa Chauth is offering Ardhya to the moon using an earthen pot and see Lord Moon from strainer. Then the woman sees the face of her husband and husband breaks the vrat with water and sweet. Also, women pray to Lord Shree Ganesh as he is the god of all the Chaturthi. As per our scripture, Lord Moon is the god of the mind and medicine and the mind of women is very fickle so offering Ardhya and worship to Lord Moon on this day is very significant. This removes the negative energy, feeling of insecurity and improves the health of their significant other. This year in 2019 on 17th October, Lord Moon will rise in the Rohini Nakshatra and Rohini Nakshatra is the most beloved wife of Lord Moon, so it is very good and fruitful for all. In past Karwa Chauth was celebrated as a prayer for the long life of the soldier and now celebrated the as long life of a married husband.

Story and Significance: There are lots of stories behind the Karwa Chauth Vrat, the most well known is related to the Shiv Family. The first time Karwa Chauth Vrat was done by Ma Devi Parvati for Lord Shiv so Pujan of Shiv Family must consider in this vrat. Another story is related to Veeravati, A long time ago, Ved Sharma and Leelavati had seven sons and one daughter named Veeravati lived Indraprasthpur. Veeravati did the vrat on Karwa Chauth with her sister in law but somehow she could not complete the vrat and eat the Ardhya before she saw Lord Moon and due to this, her husband lost his life. Then she took Nirahar Vrat for one year and saved her husband's life. One more story is related to the All God and Goddess, Once upon a time, there was a terrible war that took place between the Gods and Demons. Demons became very powerful and almost won the war but then as per the suggestion of the Lord Shree Brahma, all Goddess took the Karwa Chauth vrat and then all Gods won the war against the Demons. In the Mahabharat, it was mentioned that Devi Draupadi did the Karwa Chauth vrat to remove the hurdle of Pandavas. Another verson is that there was a woman named Karwa who lived with her husband. One day during bath in the river her husband was caught by the crocodile, so Karwa built crocodile with raw thread and took to Lord Yam. She asked Lord Yam to kill crocodiles and save her husband's life. Lord Yam had to tilt against the chasteness of Karwa and saved her husband's life.

Celebration: Married Women observe the Nirjala Vrat and pray for the long life of their husbands. Women dress in red saree and apply mahendi on hand. They read the story of Karwa Chauth, sing the folk song in a group and worship the family of Lord Shiva on this day and perform Pujan Archan. In the night women see the Lord Moon from strainer offer Ardhya and then break the fast with the hand of their husband.

In short Karwa Chauth is the most famous Vrat for married women across India. We all must respect and celebrate Karwa Chauth in the true sense and save our culture, tradition, and spirituality.