subject: Karwa Chauth 2010 – Cultural Festival of Married Hindu Women [print this page] The Indian cultural fabric is a rich one with people of various faiths and from different backgrounds mingling together as one. It is a societal canvass of many colours of lifestyles, languages, social practices, traditions, rituals and more. One of the most interesting chapters of this beautiful heritage is the festival of North and North western India called Karva Chauth.
Karwachauth is an occasion when married Hindu women pray to God for their husband's long life. Karva Chauth date falls about nine days before Diwali on the Kartik Ki Chouth - the fourth day of the waning moon or the dark fortnight, some time in October or November. Karwa Chauth 2010 is on 25 October, Monday.
This occasion is considered more special for women who are observing their first Karva Chauth fast after marriage. A newly married woman is given utmost importance by relatives and immediate family members when she observes her first fast. She is showered with blessings for a blissful married life and loads of Karva Chauth gifts by her husband, mother-in-law and other relatives.
Ritualistic Fasting on Karwa Chauth Day
'Karwa Chauth' is a ritual of fasting observed by married Hindu women seeking the long life, well-being and prosperity of their husbands. Married women keep a strict fast and do not take even a drop of water. It is the most important and difficult fast observed by married Hindu women. It begins before sunrise and ends only after offering prayers and worshiping the moon at night. No food or water can be taken after sunrise. The fast is broken once the moon is sighted and rituals of the day have been performed. At night when the moon appears, women break their fast after offering water to the moon.
Going All Out on This Special Day
It is customary to dress up in bridal finery, apply henna on hands and feet in preparation for the fast day. Women throng the marketplaces and do shopping to their hearts content. In the evening women gather at a temple or at a community centre or at someone's home and listen to the 'vrat katha' or story. And a special mud pot, that is considered a symbol of lord Ganesha, a metal urn filled with water, flowers, idols of Ambika Gaur Mata, Goddess Parwati and some fruits, mathi and food grains are offered to the deities and the storyteller.
Ending The Fast in a Moonlit Setting
Every one lights an earthen lamp in their thalis while listening to the Karwa story. Sindoor, incense sticks and rice are also kept in the thali. In some regions, women even pass the thali around while listening to the Katha or Story. Once the moon rises, the women see its reflection in a thali of water, or through a dupatta or a sieve. They offer water to the moon and seek blessings. They pray for the safety, prosperity and long life of their husbands. This marks the end of the day long Karva Chauth fast.
Karwa Chauth 2010 Cultural Festival of Married Hindu Women
