Karwa Chauth 2021: Pooja vidhi and fasting rules
This year Karwa Chauth will fall on 24th October 2021, Sunday. This festival celebrates sacred bond of love and marriage. On this day married women observe nirjala fast and worship the almighty for a blissful married life. Karwa Chauth falls on the fourth day of Kartik month.
Women dress up like a newly wed bride, wear new attire, wear jewellry, apply mehendi and adorn the sacred solah shringar. If you too are planning to observe the Karwa Chauth fast this year, then here are a few fasting rules (vrat vidhi) that you can follow easily.
Karwa Chauth Fasting Rules
To begin the rituals for Karwa Chauth it is necessary to bathe early morning before the sunrise and don new attire.
The first ritual is to take a sankalp or pledge before sunrise. After this the Sargi is offered by the mother-in-law, which is to be consumed before the sunrise.
The Sargi thali must include essentials like Solah Sringar, bangles, new attire, sweets, fruits, meethi seviyan (vermicelli), puri, sabzi, juice or beverage.
The food served as a Sargi must be satvik, which must be cooked without garlic and onion.
After the Sargi, the fasting for Karwa Chauth vrat begins, where the person observing the fast needs to chant the name of Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva and Ganesha.
Karwa Chauth Pooja Vidhi
As a part of the rituals, it is believed that creating pictures of Falak and Karwa from the grinded liquid rice also known as Geru (ochre) on the walls is an important part of the ritual. The process of painting the walls is known as Karwadharna.
Next, the festive feast prepared on this day for the puja must include pakke Pakwan along with puris and sweet delicacies like Halwa or Seviyan.
As per the tradition, it is believed that preparing Athavari from eight puris and delicious sweet halwa adds sweetness to the festival as well as the relationship.
The nirjala fast also revolves around reading a paath with ladies observing this fast.
Preparing small sculptures of Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha is also an important part of the festival. The small clay idol of Ganesha is placed on the lap of Goddess Parvati, which is followed by prayers and chanting hymns in the evening.
Clean and decorate the place of worship and then place a red cloth. Place the idol of Goddess Parvati and decorate her with the solah shringar. Then place a kalash in front of the idol and fill it with water.
Take a bowl full of wheat grains, put grinded sugar inside it and put the dakshina over it, cover with a lid and make a Swastik on the Karwa with red vermillion.
Then worship Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha. Read and listen to the vrat katha with other ladies observing this fast.
After the moon is visible, use a channi (a traditional sieve). Place a dia on channi and take a glimpse of the moon and then the face of your husband. Followed by seeking blessings and drinking water. Lastly, end the vrat with prasad and lavish spread of delicacies like Seviya, sweets, curries, mathris, puri, sabzi to name a few.
What is Sargi?
Sargi is the first meal on the day of Karwa Chauth that is taken before dawn, after which the fasting period begins. It is usually prepared by mother-in-law and is eaten by married women of the house. In order to have Sargi, women wake up early in the morning, have a bath, do pooja and then have the meal. All this needs to be done while it is still dark outside and the sun has not risen. Once the sun rises, no food is to be consumed.
