हरतालिका तीज व्रत कथा

In homes this story is usually told as Shiva himself reminding Parvati of her own past. One day Parvati asked which vrat she had kept to win Shiva as her husband. Shiva said that it was all the fruit of her own tapas, and then told her the tale she herself had forgotten.

In her earlier birth she had been Sati, the daughter of Daksha. Unable to bear the insult to Shiva at her father's yajna, she gave up her body. Then she was born in the house of Himalaya, king of the mountains, and Mena, and from childhood her heart stayed on Shiva. Grown up, she began tapas in the forests of the Himalaya. Enduring sun, rain and snow, she lived first on fruit, then only on leaves, and in the end gave up the leaves too; that is why the tradition also calls her Aparna, she who took not even a leaf.

Seeing his daughter in this state, Himalaya stayed anxious. One day Narada came to him and said that Lord Vishnu wished to marry his daughter. What greater honour could there be for Himalaya; he gladly said yes. When this reached Parvati she sank into deep sorrow. She could accept no one but the one her heart had already chosen, and against her father's word she could see no way out.

She told a friend what was in her heart. The friend told her that weeping would change nothing, and it was she who found the way: she quietly took Parvati out of the palace to a deep forest, where her father's men could not easily reach. This is the friend's 'carrying away', which gave the vrat its name. She did it from no spite and no disrespect to Vishnu; she simply stood by what her friend's heart wanted.

In the forest, in a cave by a river, Parvati returned to her tapas. On the day of Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya she shaped a Shivling from the river's sand, ate nothing and drank no water all day, and stayed awake all night with Shiva's name on her lips. Forest flowers and leaves were all the samagri she had.

Her tapas shook Shiva's seat. He appeared before Parvati and told her to ask for what she wished. Parvati said only one thing: 'Accept me as your wife.' Shiva granted her prayer and went back to his own place.

The next morning Parvati respectfully immersed the puja offerings and the sand linga in the river, and broke her fast with her friend. Just then Himalaya arrived, searching for his daughter. Distressed at the sight of her, he asked why she had left home and come here. Parvati told him everything and said she would return only if she were to be married to Shiva. The father understood his daughter's heart and agreed. He brought her home, and in due time Shiva and Parvati were married.

At the close of the story Shiva says that the woman who keeps this vrat with faith on this day will have his grace and Parvati's. Vrat booklets add long lists of rewards to this, and in places frightening results of breaking the fast. We do not repeat them, because the heart of the story does not lie there. It lies in three things: a daughter's own resolve, a friend's fearless loyalty, and a father who in the end listens to his daughter.

The root story of Parvati's tapas is in the Parvati Khanda of the Rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana: Sati's rebirth in Himalaya's house, Narada's coming, Parvati's hard tapas, and Shiva testing her and accepting her. There the Seven Sages try her resolve, and then Shiva himself comes disguised as a brahmin and speaks ill of Shiva; when Parvati does not waver, he shows his own form.

The proposal of marriage to Vishnu, the friend taking Parvati to the forest, the linga of sand and this vrat on the Tritiya do not appear in that form in this Shiva Purana story. They come from the oral tradition and the vrat booklets, and have been told in homes for generations. Different booklets name different Puranas for it, but we could not confirm any of them, so we simply call it oral tradition. The two forms do not agree in every detail; in the Shiva Purana the tapas is known to her father, and in the vrat story Parvati leaves home. For one who keeps the vrat, the heart of both is the same.

For the images and the puja: clean river sand or pure clay (to shape small images of Shiva, Parvati and, if you wish, Ganesh), a low stool, a red or yellow cloth, a small canopy of banana leaves or flowers if you wish, water and Ganga water, a kalash, a ghee lamp, incense, camphor, sandal paste, roli, akshat, mauli, bel leaves, dhatura, shami leaves, durva and flowers of the season. For the food offering: fruit, sweets and whatever home-made dishes the family has always made.

For Parvati, the tokens of married life: a red chunri, sindoor, kumkum, a bindi, bangles, mehndi, kajal and a comb, as many as come easily. After the puja these are given to a married woman or to a temple. If you cannot gather everything, do not worry: a little sand or clay, water, a few bel leaves and flowers, one lamp and a sincere heart are enough for the puja. In the story Parvati too had nothing but the flowers and leaves of the forest.

1. The day and the time: the vrat is kept on the day on which Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya is running at sunrise. The time of the puja is the pratah, the morning window: from sunrise through a fifth of the day, which is the first three of the day's fifteen muhurtas. The date box on this page shows this year's day and this window for New Delhi; for another city, open the panchang for that day.

2. The day before: eat a plain sattvic meal and take enough water through the day, so that the body is ready for the next day. In many homes mehndi is put on the hands on this day. Gather the samagri beforehand too.

3. Morning and the sankalp: rise before sunrise, bathe and put on clean clothes; many women wear red or green and the adornments of married life. Take water, akshat and a flower in your hand and make the sankalp in your own words: that today you keep this vrat for the grace of Shiva and Parvati, saying also the form in which you keep it as your body allows, without water or with water and fruit. Then let the water fall to the ground.

4. Shaping the images: set the stool in a clean place, spread the cloth and decorate the canopy. Knead the sand or clay with a little water and shape a Shivling and a small image of Parvati with your own hands, and Ganesh too if you wish. Do not worry about how fine they look; in the story too the linga was only sand. Place the images on the stool and sit on a mat facing east or north.

5. Ganesh first: offer roli, akshat, durva and a flower to Ganesh and chant 'ॐ गं गणपतये नमः' a few times. Then offer roli, akshat and flowers to the kalash.

6. The worship of Shiva: so that the sand or clay does not melt away, give only a light sprinkle of water in place of abhishek. Then offer sandal paste, akshat, bel leaves, dhatura, shami and white flowers, and chant 'ॐ नमः शिवाय', one mala of 108 if you can. By tradition the ketaki flower is not offered to Shiva, and usually tulsi is not either.

7. The worship of Parvati: sprinkle water before Parvati, mark her with roli and kumkum, drape the chunri, offer the tokens of married life and flowers, and chant 'ॐ पार्वत्यै नमः'. Show incense and the lamp, then set out the fruit and sweets.

8. The katha and aarti: with akshat and a flower in your hand read or hear this katha; many women hear it sitting together. Close with the aarti, in the order given below. Those keeping the fast set their prasad aside for the paran next morning.

9. The night vigil: this vrat does not end at nightfall. In many homes the puja is done again in the evening, and the women sing bhajans together, tell the katha again and chant 'ॐ नमः शिवाय'; they may also recite the Shiv Chalisa and the Rudrashtakam, both in this library. In some places there is a custom of puja in each prahar of the night. Those who cannot stay awake all night keep awake as long as they can, bow and rest; driving the body into exhaustion is no part of the vrat.

10. The paran: the next morning bathe, do the last puja and aarti of Shiva and Parvati, and ask forgiveness for any slip. Then respectfully immerse the sand or clay images and the flowers and leaves of the puja in flowing water or, where the water is to be kept clean, in the soil of a pot at home or at the root of a tree. Give the tokens of married life to a married woman or a temple, with some grain or dakshina if you can. After that first take a little water slowly, then the prasad, and then a light meal. After a long time without water, do not eat or drink much at once.

11. Without a priest: this puja is done by the women of the house themselves, and no step of it needs a priest. Those who do not know Sanskrit mantras can do the full puja with 'ॐ नमः शिवाय' and a prayer in their own words alone. Families who want a formal puja, or a havan for the udyapan, may call a priest for that.

The traditional rule is that from the sunrise of the Tritiya until the paran next morning neither food nor water is taken. The rule is hard, and it does not run the same way in every home. In many homes women keep this vrat with fruit or with water, and many families do not count it as less; the centre of the story is Parvati's resolve, not how long anyone went without water.

The ill, pregnant and nursing women, the elderly, children and anyone on medicines should not keep a waterless or full fast; a doctor's advice comes first. With diabetes, blood pressure or a kidney problem this matters even more. They can keep the vrat with water, milk and fruit, or with the puja and katha alone. If dizziness, great weakness or unease comes during the fast, take water without hesitation. In the damp heat of Bhadrapada the body loses more water, so keep out of the sun and away from heavy work.

By tradition this vrat is kept by both married women and unmarried girls. For girls, the Parvati of the story is herself the model, since she kept this vrat before her marriage. Do not have young girls keep a waterless fast.

During periods: the traditional view is that in those days a woman does not touch the images or the puja materials; she may keep the fast, hear the katha and chant 'ॐ नमः शिवाय' in her mind, while another woman of the household does the puja. Many families and teachers today also hold that devotion knows no such bar, and that a woman may do the full puja at home. Follow your family's tradition and your own heart.

In north and central India, as in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, this is mainly a vrat of married women, and many unmarried girls keep it too. Homes shape Shiva and Parvati from sand or clay, a canopy of flowers or banana leaves is decorated, the women hear the katha together and sing bhajans at night.

In Rajasthan both Teej and Gangaur are great festivals of Gauri, and the public celebration is usually seen more at Hariyali Teej. Hartalika is kept there too: in many homes women fast, worship Shiva and Parvati and hear the katha.

In Bihar and Jharkhand it is often called simply 'Teej', and it is counted among the greatest vrats of the women there. Many married women keep it without water, put on new clothes and adornments, worship clay images of Shiva and Parvati and stay awake all night; the fast is broken the next morning after the immersion. In many homes dishes such as thekua are part of the festival too.

In Maharashtra it is known as 'Hartalika', and both unmarried girls and married women keep it. A sand Shivling is worshipped with Parvati, some homes also keep an image of her friend, and many kinds of leaves are offered to Shiva; the Ganesh festival follows straight after. This same Tritiya is kept in Karnataka as Gowri Habba, and in Nepal Teej is the great festival of this time, though the customs there are their own.

In many homes it is held that once begun, this vrat is kept every year. When age or health no longer allows it, or when the years set by the family's custom are complete, the vrat is closed with respect through an udyapan. There is no single rule for this; the count of years and the method differ from family to family, so it is good to ask the older women of the house.

In many homes the udyapan is done on this same Tritiya. After the puja of Shiva and Parvati, the next morning married women, as many as the family's custom and means allow, are respectfully fed and given the tokens of married life, cloth and dakshina. A small havan may be added if you wish, with a priest called for it; but a simple udyapan does not make the vrat any less. If water has to be taken for reasons of health, that need not mean closing the vrat; it can go on with water and fruit, or with the puja and katha alone.

The tradition links this vrat with the wish for a happy marriage, a husband's long life and the life partner one hopes for. But the story holds one thing more, which sets it apart from other vrats. Here Parvati keeps a vow to stand by her own choice, and does not keep it to accept a groom chosen by someone else. And the vrat is known by the courage of a friend, not by the name of a god.

So do not take Hartalika as a promise of any result. It is a practice of faith, restraint and constancy, and women sitting together to hear the story and keep awake through the night is itself a lovely part of it.

After the puja and the katha the Ganesh aarti 'Jai Ganesh Deva' is sung first, then Shiva's aarti 'Om Jai Shiv Omkara' and Parvati's aarti 'Jai Parvati Mata'; all three have their full text on separate pages in this library. Do the aarti with a ghee or camphor lamp and the bell, then pass your hands over the flame and touch them to your eyes, ask forgiveness for any slip and share the prasad; those keeping the fast set their share aside for the paran.