Karwa Chauth 2018: The festival of Karwa Chauth, celebrated in the country with great zeal, holds major significance in the lives of married women in India. As a symbol of love, women observe an all-day fast and pray for the long life of husband.
Karwa Chauth 2018 will be celebrated on 27th October this year.
When is Karwa Chauth celebrated?
As per the Hindu lunar calendar, the festival of Karwa Chauth, also spelt Karva Chauth, is observed on the fourth day after the Purnima (the full moon night), which is Krishna Paksha Chaturthi in the month of Kartik.
How is Karwa Chauth celebrated?
Married women, and also who engaged, especially from North Indian states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, observe a full-day ‘nirjala’ fast (without eating any food and water) and at the end of the day offer prayers to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, and Lord Kartik to seek blessings for a long life their husbands’ .
Traditionally, the fasting women get ready at the time of the evening Puja. In the evening Puja, women are told a story about a queen named Veervati by the pujari at the temple after which women wait for the moon to arise in the sky to break their fast.
As the rituals are followed, the women offer prayer to the moon at the end and the husbands are supposed to help their wives in taking the first sip of the water to complete the fast.
Karwa Chauth legend/katha
The story of Karwa Chauth narrates the life of a queen named Veervati. The queen was the loving sister of seven brothers. After marriage, Veervati celebrated her first Karwa Chaut at her parents’ home.
After observing the fast, Veervati waited for the moon to arise. The brothers, who couldn’t bear the sight of the hunger-stricken sister, tricked her into believing that the moon has appeared by creating a mirror at a nearby tree.
Mistaking the mirror for the moon, Veervati broke her fast. Soon, she received the news about her husband’s death. The news left Veervati shocked as she spent the night grieving for her dead husband. She was then asked by a goddess to observe the fast again in the next year with utter dedication.
She followed the path shown by the goddess as she observed the next year’s Karwa Chauth fast strictly. Her dedication forced the god of death Yama to bring her husband back to life.
Date for this year’s Karwa Chauth fast
27 October
Karwa Chauth Puja time
The Karwa Chauth muhurat will last for one hour and seventeen minutes as it will begin at 05:36 pm and it will go on till 06:53 pm.
Moon Timing
The moon is expected to appear at 08:03 pm.
Make your loved one feel special
While wives observe the fast, the husbands can plan a nice dinner out to surprise their better halves with a fancy dinner date. Expressing love by gifting something special is also a good idea to celebrate the festival.
Happy Karwa Chauth!