Karwa Chauth: Festival rituals to follow before and after moonrise

Karwa Chauth is a Hindu festival that is celebrated on the fourth day of ‘Sharad Poornima’. On this auspicious festival, married women observe a day-long fast for their husbands. It is believed that on Karwa Chauth, praying and keeping fast gives your husband a long-life. This year it is celebrated on October 17, 2019.

Karwa Chauth rituals

On this day, women dress up wearing bright clothes that are preferably new. They get up early in the morning before the sunrise and savour the sargi. A Sargi is given to them by their mother-in-law and Baya from her mother. Sargi consists of fruits, sweets, clothes, jewellery, etc. The Baya contains the Karwa, the pitcher that is believed to be the most important part of the Karwa Chauth Pooja. After having Sargi, they keep a fast for the whole day and break it only after catching a glimpse of the moon.

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In the evening, women wear their best attires, decked up in jewellery and make-up. In the Hindu tradition, red is considered as a sacred colour in marriage and therefore most of the women around the country prefer wearing red for the occasion.

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For the Karwa Chauth Pooja, women sit together in a group and the Karwa Chauth Katha is narrated. They also put Sindoor and other Pooja Samagri along with flowers on the idol of Goddess Parvati. After praying and completing the rituals, they wait for the moonrise patiently. Karwa is a pitcher filled with water and coins that the women use during the festival.

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When the moon rises, the wife first sees the moon using a sieve and then looks at her husband through the same sieve. Some women also light up a small diyas and place it on the sieve while performing the ritual. After the moon sighting, the husband offers water to the wife and that’s how the fast is broken. The women then enjoy dinner with family members.

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