Kulbir Kaur

Karva Chauth, the festival observed by married women, is popular in the northern and western parts of India, especially in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. The festival comes nine days before Diwali on “Kartik ki Chauth”.

The word chauth means the “fourth day” and karva is an earthen pot with a spout which is a symbol of peace and prosperity. Therefore, the festival is called Karva Chauth.
Karva Chauth follows soon after the Kharif crop harvest and coincides with the wheat-sowing time, that is, the beginning of the Rabi crop. In rural areas, big earthen pots in which wheat is stored are also called karvas. Therefore, the Karva Chauth festival is also a prayer for good harvest. This is also an auspicious time to send gifts to married daughters and others.
The festival of Karva Chauth is of immense significance to Hindu women as they believe it ensures the well-being, prosperity and longevity of their husbands. Married women keep fast from sunrise till the moonrise. It is believed that the vrat in Karva Chauth spiritually strengthens women and various stories associated with the fast indicate that women can successfully confront and defeat death. According to one legend, the husband of one woman, Karva, was caught by a crocodile. Karva, who was deeply devoted to her husband, came running and tied the crocodile with a cotton yarn. Karva requested Yama to send the crocodile to hell. But Yama refused and Karva threatened to curse him. Yama, being aware of the powers of the devoted wife, sends the crocodile to yamlok and blessed Karva’s husband with a long life. There is another story of Queen Veervati who won her husband back from the god of death. Similarly popular is the story of Savitri. These stories of devoted women are remembered on the day of Karva Chauth.
Women wake up before sunrise to eat and drink and then the fast begins. Traditionally the mother-in-law prepares an elaborate pre-dawn meal or Sargi when her daughter-in-law observes her first fast, which includes fenia with milk. A married woman keeping this fast is called Saubhagyavati and is usually blessed with the words sada suhagan raho (may you always enjoy a blissful married life). The mother-in-law also presents her daughter-in-law with gifts. Hence, Karva Chauth offers an opportunity to get close to each other and strengthens the bond between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law.
In the evening, between 4 to 5 pm, before the sunset, a puja is organised. The puja place is decorated with kharia mitti and on a platform puja items, idols and pictures of Goddess Karva or Maa Parvati are kept. The evening is spent offering prayers to Goddess Gauri seeking her blessings for a happy married life. Women sit in a circle, fully decked up, with their puja thalis and then a story of Karva Chauth is narrated with regular pauses. In the pauses, the puja song is sung collectively by the women as they pass their thalis in a circle. Usually the song is sung seven times, the first six of which describe the forbidden activities during the fast and the seventh describes the lifting of these restrictions with the conclusion of the fast. When the moon is visible, married women view its reflection through a sieve. Water is offered (arka) to the moon to secure its blessings with the singing of the song, sir dhadi, paer kadi, ark dendi, sarv suhagan, chaubera khadi. She then views the face of her husband who offers her water and then gives her the first morsel of the day. The fast is now concluded.

Kulbir Kaur teaches sociology at Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, Delhi University