Indian Traditions: Karwa Chauth – With Love For My Husband

By Ruchi Khurana

A tradition of faith, Karwa Chauth is a full-fledged festival in modern times. While celebrating Karwa Chauth, married Hindu women observe a day-long vrat (fast) for the long life of their husband.

Women undertake this rigorous fast with complete devotion and enthusiasm. By observing the Karva Chauth vrat, women express their love for their husband and rejuvenate their married life.

In modern India, Karwa Chauth is more like Valentine’s Day for married couples – a day to express love and re-affirm marital vows. It is interesting to observe that the popularity of age-old festivals like Karva Chauth is rising with every passing year.

Even in today’s jet fast age, modern Indian women have maintained their faith in ancient Indian scriptures and tradition. They usually observe the fast by carrying out all the prescribed rituals with full devotion.

When Is Karwa Chauth Celebrated?

The festival of Karwa Chauth is celebrated on Kartik Ki Chauth. This means the fourth day (chauth) of the waning moon or dark fortnight of the auspicious Hindu month of Kartik.

According to the Gregorian calendar, Kartik corresponds to the months of October and November. The day of Karva Chauth comes nine days before the festival of Diwali.

The Legends Behind Karwa Chauth

A popular legend behind Karwa Chauth narrates the story of Savitri and Satyavan. It is said that when Lord Yamraj (the Hindu God of Death) came to take Satyavan’s life, Savitri desperately pleaded to Yamraj to spare her husband, but Yamraj refused.

Savitri then undertook a rigorous fast and vowed not to eat or drink until Yamraj granted her wish. Yamraj was moved by Savitri’s devotion and felt compelled to restore life back to Satyavan. Since then, women have been observing the Karwa Chauth fast for the long life of their husband.

According to another widely acknowledged legend, once queen Veeravati was made to break her fast by looking at a false moon, shown to her by her seven loving brothers who could not bear to watch their dearest sister remain hungry for so long. But as soon as Veeravati had dinner, her husband died.

Veeravati rushed to her husband’s palace on receiving the news. On her way, Goddess Parvati explained to Veeravati that her husband died because she did not observed the fast properly.

Veeravati begged forgiveness and on Parvati Ma’s advice, completed the rigorous Karwa Chauth fast under strict conditions. Pleased with the queen’s devotion, Goddess Parvati revived her husband.

Preparing For Karwa Chauth

Karwa Chauth is celebrated as a grand festival even in modern times. Elaborate preparations are made for the occasion days for the festival. While some wear their wedding attire, others buy new sarees for the big day. Matching glass bangles, bindis, jewellery and footwear are purchased to complete the ensemble.

However, the most colorful scenes of the festival can be observed on the eve of Karva Chauth, when women queue up before the mehendiwalas to get intricate henna patterns painted on their palms. Long queues for mehendi can be seen till the middle of the night. Husbands’ and children accompany the women making the marketplace feistier.

The Karwa Chauth Fast

Karwa Chauth fast preparations are made before dawn. Suhagins (married Hindu women) wake up at around 4 am and take their bath. After performing their daily prayers women in the family gather together and consume food items collectively called ‘sargi‘. Apart from food, the sargi also includes fruits and sweets.

Traditionally, the sargi is given to the woman by her mother-in-law. After this, women observing the Karwa Chauth fast do not consume even a morsel of food or a drop of water.

Modern-day women who find the fast too rigorous can consume water or milk during the day. Pregnant or sick women are also given a break during the fast and are allowed to consume fruits or any other foods considered necessary in their condition.

Interestingly, many loving husbands too observe a fast for the sake of their wife. Though there is no such tradition, they do so out of love for their wife. The rigorous Karwa Chauth fast is broken only after moonrise which usually occurs after 8 pm.

The rigorous Karwa Chauth fast is broken only after moonrise

The Karwa Chauth Puja Process

The Karwa Chauth puja is carried out during the afternoon. A group of brightly dressed women gather in a house or in temple premises to carry out the process. Women sit in the form of a circle at the center of which is placed the cow dung image of Gaura Ma and a Karva (pitcher) on a raised platform.

The womenfolk place a teeka on the idol of Gaura Ma and seek blessings for a long and blissful married life. An elderly woman narrates the story of the Karva Chauth vrat and intermittently women rotate their thalis with baya while reciting the Karwa Chauth song, “Chand chade te pani peena...”

After the puja, women chat over and return to their respective homes. These days, women also play indoor games to have fun and pass time till the moon rises.

Breaking The Fast With Moon-Rise

After the puja is over, there begins a desperate wait for the moonrise. Thirsty and famished women, along with their husband and kids, visit the terrace to see if the moon has risen. News channels too announce the rise of the moon for the benefit of anxious women.

When the moon rises, women go to the terrace or open area with a thali containing a small pitcher of water, a piece of mithai (sweet) and a diya. Women glance at the moon through a sieve or a chalani and then look at their husband the same way.

After offering worship to the Moon God, women drink water offered from their husband’s hand and break their fast with a sweet. Traditional Hindu women also touch their husband’s feet at this point.

Karwa Chauth Gifting Traditions

After breaking the fast, women present baya to their saas or mother-in-law. Typically, baya includes mathris, almonds and a gift for mother-in-law. Sometimes, cash is also given in place of gift. This baya is same one that was rotated in the thali during the puja.

Impressed with their wife’s devotion, husbands’ too indulge their wife with a gift. Popular Karwa Chauth gifts for wife include jewelry, sarees and fashion accessories.

The Sumptuous Dinner

After remaining hungry for so long, women look forward to a sumptuous dinner. Nowadays, couples prefer to go out for a lavish dinner in restaurants as wives are too tired to cook a dinner themselves. It’s little wonder that restaurants are well patronized on the Karwa Chauth night.

Ruchi Khurana is a Content Writer for Sahara Care House, a part of Sahara India Pariwar and a single window service platform offering diverse services such as NRI Services, relationship services for NRIs and PIOs. Through Sahara Care House, Indians residing overseas can send gifts to India in 197 cities through a strong workforce of 3500 Relationship Ambassadors who are on call 24×365.

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