Karva Chauth

Karva Chauth or Karwa Chauth or Karaka Chaturthi (Sanskrit: करकचतुर्थी, romanized: Karakachaturthī) is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindu women of Nepal, Northern India and Western India in October or November on the Bikram Sambat month of Kartika. Like many Hindu festivals, Karva Chauth is based on a lunisolar variant of the Hindu Calendars. The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon.

On Karva Chauth women observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. The Karva Chauth fast is traditionally celebrated in Nepal and the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Fiji. It is celebrated as Atla Tadde in Andhra Pradesh.

Origins

Karva is another word for 'pot' (a small earthen pot of water) and chauth means 'fourth' in Hindi (a reference to the fact that the festival falls on the fourth day of the dark-fortnight, or Krishna paksha, of the month of Kartika). In Sanskrit scriptures, the festival is referred to as Karaka Chaturthi, karaka meaning an earthen water pitcher and chaturthi denoting the fourth day of the lunar Hindu month.

Karva Chauth is mostly celebrated in Northern India. Military campaigns were often conducted by Rajput men in far off places whereby Rajput men would leave their wives and children at home to go off to the war. Their wives would often pray for their safe return. The festival also coincides with the wheat-sowing time (i.e., the beginning of the Rabi crop cycle). Big earthen pots in which wheat is stored are sometimes called karvas, so the fast may have begun as a prayer for a good harvest in this predominantly wheat-eating Northwestern region.

Another story about the origin of this festival relates to the bond of feminine friendship. With the custom of arranged marriage being prevalent, the newlywed is supposed to reside with her husband and in-laws. Being new to the family, the custom arose of befriending another woman as her friend (kangan-saheli) or sister (dharam-behn) for life. The friendship would be sanctified through a Hindu ritual during the marriage ceremony itself. The bride's friend would usually be of the same age (or slightly older), typically married into the same village (so that she would not go away) and not directly related to her in-laws (so there was no conflict of interest later). This emotional and psychological bond would be considered akin to a blood relationship. It is said that Karva Chauth festival evolved to include celebrating this special bond of friendship.

A few days before Karva Chauth, married women would buy new karvas (spherical clay pots)—7-9" in diameter and 2–3 litres capacity—and paint them on the outside with beautiful designs. Inside, they would put bangles and ribbons, home-made candy and sweets, make-up items, and small clothes. The women would then visit each other on the day of Karva Chauth and exchange these karvas.

Annual dates

The following dates are based on the Hindu calendar.

Rituals

Women begin preparing for Karva Chauth a few days in advance, by buying adornments (shringar), jewellery, and puja (prayer) items, such as the Karva lamps, matthi, Mehandi and the decorated puja thali (plate). Local bazaars take on a festive look as shopkeepers put their Karva Chauth related products on display. On the day of the fast, women from Punjab region awake to eat and drink just before sunrise. In Uttar Pradesh, celebrants eat soot feni with milk in sugar on the eve of the festival. It is said that this helps them go without water the next day. In Punjab, sargi (ਸਰਗੀ) is an important part of this pre-dawn meal and always includes fenia. It is traditional for the sargi to be sent or given to the fasting woman by her mother-in-law. If she lives with her mother-in-law, the pre-dawn meal is prepared by the mother-in-law. On Karva Chauth occasion, fasting women choose to wear Karva Chauth special dresses like a traditional saari or lehenga to look their best. In some regions, women wear traditional dresses of their states.

The fast begins at dawn. Fasting women do not eat or drink during the day. Hindu wives perform various kind of rituals along with a vrata (fast) on Karva Chauth for their husband's long life.

In traditional observances of the fast, the fasting woman usually does no housework. Women apply Mehandi and other cosmetics to themselves and each other. The day passes in meeting friends and relatives. In some regions, it is customary to give and exchange painted clay pots filled with bangles, ribbons, home-made candy, cosmetics and small cloth items (e.g., handkerchiefs). Since Karva Chauth follows soon after the Kharif crop harvest in the rural areas, it is a good time for community festivities and gift exchanges. Parents often send gifts to their married daughters and their children.

In the evening, a community women-only ceremony is held. Participants dress in fine clothing and wear jewellery and mehandi, and (in some regions) dress in the complete finery of their wedding dresses. The dresses (Saris or Lehangas) are frequently red, gold, pink, yellow or orange, which are considered auspicious colours. The fasters sit in a circle with their puja thalis. Depending on region and community, a version of the story of Karva Chauth is narrated, with regular pauses. The storyteller is usually an older woman or a priest, if one is present. The Karva Chauth puja song is sung collectively. In some parts of Uttar Pradesh, in the pauses, the singers perform the feris (passing their thalis around in the circle). While in other parts, the women keep some rice etc. in their hands while listening to the story.

The first six describe some of the activities of fast and the seventh describes the lifting of those restrictions with the conclusion of the fast. The forbidden activities include weaving cloth (kumbh chrakhra feri naa), pleading with or attempting to please anyone (ruthda maniyen naa), and awakening anyone who is asleep (suthra jagayeen naa). For the first six feris they sing^{[needs translation]}

...Veero kudiye Karvara, Sarv suhagan Karvara, Aye katti naya teri naa, Kumbh chrakhra feri naa, Aar pair payeen naa, Ruthda maniyen naa, Suthra jagayeen naa, Ve veero kuriye Karvara, Ve sarv suhagan Karvara...

For the seventh feri, they sing^{[needs translation]}

...Veero kudiye Karvara, Sarv suhagan Karvara, Aye katti naya teri nee, Kumbh chrakhra feri bhee, Aar pair payeen bhee, Ruthda maniyen bhee, Suthra jagayeen bhee, Ve veero kuriye Karvara, Ve sarv suhagan Karvara...

In Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, participants exchange karvas seven times between themselves. In Rajasthan, before offering water seven times the fasting woman is asked "Dhapi ki Ni Dhapi?" (are you satiated?), to which she responds, "Jal se Dhapi, Suhaag se na Dhapi" (I am satiated by water, but not from [love of] my husband). An alternative ritual conducted by Uttar Pradeshis is prayer of "gaur mata" the earth. Specifically, celebrants will take a bit of soil, sprinkle water, and then place kumkum on it, treating it as an idol/manifestation of the fertile Mother Earth. In Rajasthan, stories are told by older women in the family, including narratives of Karva Chauth, Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesh. In earlier times, an idol of Gaur Mata was made using earth and cow dung, which has now been replaced with an idol of Parvati. In some communities, especially in and around Bangalore, a visual depiction of HG is used. Each fasting woman lights an earthen lamp in her thali while listening to the Karva story. Sindoor, incense sticks and rice are also kept in the thali.

In Uttar Pradesh, a priest or an elderly woman of the family narrates the story of beejabeti or Veeravati. Celebrants make idols of Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha with mud and decorate them with colourful and bright clothes and jewellery. While exchanging karvas seven times, they sing^{[needs translation]}

...Sadaa suhagan karve lo, Pati ki pyari karve lo, Saat bhaiyon ke behen karve lo, Vart karni karve lo, Saas ki pyaari karve lo...

Thereafter, the fasters offer baayna (a melange of goodies like halwa, puri, namkeen mathri, meethi mathri, etc.) to the idols (mansana) and hand over to their mother-in-law or sister-in-law.