Karwa Chauth 2019: Legendary tales of the festival

Karwa Chauth is one of the vastly celebrated Hindu festivals where a wife fasts the entire day for her husband's long life. The ritual demands wives to avoid food & water until they have seen the moon. Modernisation has changed the culture in many ways, nowadays even men fast for their wives on this occasion. Talking about Karwa Chauth, this culture has three major stories that follow which are denoted as legends of Karwa Chauth.

Stories of Karwa Chauth

Tales of Queen Veeravati

According to folk tales, a beautiful princess Veerawati got married to a dynamic King. She was the only sister of seven brothers who loved her very dearly. Although, Veerawati was a queen yet rituals and cultures were important to follow especially Karwa Chauth. The beautiful queen decided to visit her parents on the occasion. As it was her first Karwa Chauth it was very hard for the queen to sustain the fastings. Late, when her seven brothers discovered her distress, they decided to end her fast immediately. The seven brothers planned a deception so that Veeravati could eat something. They shined a mirror through the window near a tree. The queen thought that its a moon and ended her fast.

As soon as she ate something the news of her husband being sick came across. Confused Veeravati rushed to meet the king. On her way, she met Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and asked them for forgiveness. The kind goddess gave her a last chance on saving her husband and asked her to follow the rituals of Karwa Chauth strictly to save the king. Veeravati followed the rituals strictly and saved her husband's life. This is how the magic of Karwa Chauth worked for Veeravati.

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The Legend of Mahabharata

This magical fast goes long back in the time of pre-Mahabharata. Even the most beautiful lady of that era, Draupadi, had to go through these fasts for her husbands. There was a time when Pandavas had nothing as they were removed from their territory. Arjun was away in Nilgiris. The other four Pandavas were facing excruciating problems. The scared Draupadi called for Lord Krishna, and the lord told her about Karwa Chauth fast. The wife of five decided to do the rituals and save her husbands. The fast worked, and Draupadi saved Pandavas from falling apart.

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The legend of Karva

A woman named Karva was deeply devoted to her husband. One day her husband was caught by a crocodile. Karva came running and tied the crocodile with a rope. She then went to Yama, the lord of death, and requested him to send the crocodile to hell. When Yama refused, she threatened to curse him. Fearful of the power of a devoted wife, Yama accepted and sent the crocodile to hell, and blessed Karva's husband with long life.

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