The Story Associated With The Celebration Of Hartalika Teej
The festival of Hartalika Teej, celebrated by women of Hindu community, is to seek blessings for a happy and peaceful married life. This fasting festival is celebrated on the third day of the bright fortnight in the Hindu calendar month of Bhadra. It is observed by both married and unmarried women and the celebration is more prominent in the states of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and parts of Maharashtra.
As per Hindu mythology, this festival is celebrated to commemorate the union of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati. The story associated with the same goes as follows.
In the ancient times, Goddess Parvarti deeply adored and loved Lord Shiva, who being an aesthetic did not pay any attention to her. However, adamant about getting Lord Shiva as her husband, Goddess Parvati observed a strict fast for several days and many times survived by just chewing the leaves of the trees. Later she stopped even this trend and survived merely on thin air.
In the meantime, Lord Narad approached King Himalaya, the father of Goddess Parvati, seeking her hand in marriage to Lord Vishnu. The king accepted the proposal delightfully, being unaware of the fact that his daughter wished to marry Lord Shiva. Upon hearing of what her father had done, Goddess Parvati starting wailing loudly.
A friend enquired the reason for her grief and then suggested to Goddess Parvati to move into the dense forest and perform penance to please Lord Shiva. Following her friend’s advice, the Goddess starting praying in an intense manner, inside a cave located within the thick forest. Then on the third day of the bright fortnight in the Month of Bhadra, Goddess Parvati created a Shivlinga from sand prayed to the Lord throughout the night.
Lord Shiva finally became aware of the devotion and love of Goddess Parvati and appeared before her. He also granted her boon of marrying the Goddess and since then the day began to be observed as Hartalika Teej, to celebrate the divine union of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati.
A fast is observed on this day by unmarried women to get a good husband, while married women observe the fast to seek happiness and prosperity in their marital life. In some communities, the women also visit their home of birth to celebrate the festival. During the festival many women keep a nirjala vrat for the three complete days, which means that they not only abstain from eating anything but also do not drink any water or other liquid for these three days.
Festivals are the gems of Indian culture. Every festival has a fascinating legend associated with it. Reading about the story of Hartalika Teej was so interesting.
Teej is a festival which represents the reunion of Shiva and Parvati. What a beautiful thought. I’m sure there would be a spiritual connotation to the practice as well.
I love reading your blogs about our Indian culture. There are very few who provide complete information about the festivals and why they are celebrated. Keep doing the great work.
We celebrate Teej but wasn’t aware of the complete story. Thanks for sharing this piece. I love the vibe of this festival where we play on swing and enjoy sweets.
Have been reading a lot about Teej from my Indian friends all over social media but never really understood what it is about. Thanks for writing about this. Really informative=)
Festivals are the gems of Indian culture. Every festival has a fascinating legend associated with it. Reading about the story of Hartalika Teej was so interesting.
Happy hartalika teej to you also. I too keep fast on this day. We start our preparation the week before this day. I am so excited about coming Teej.
Omg what an intense practice. Going on without even a drop of water is tough. I have heard of Teej but never knew the practice .
Teej is a festival which represents the reunion of Shiva and Parvati. What a beautiful thought. I’m sure there would be a spiritual connotation to the practice as well.
Yeahh I know about The Story Of Hartalika Teej- A Beautiful Festival With Some Deep Meanings. I really loved it. I am glad you shared that.
I love reading your blogs about our Indian culture. There are very few who provide complete information about the festivals and why they are celebrated. Keep doing the great work.
Very nice and informative post. I was now much aware of this festival. Thanks for sharing
We celebrate Teej but wasn’t aware of the complete story. Thanks for sharing this piece. I love the vibe of this festival where we play on swing and enjoy sweets.
Have been reading a lot about Teej from my Indian friends all over social media but never really understood what it is about. Thanks for writing about this. Really informative=)
Wow being from a different cultural background, I got to know about so many different things through this post. Thanks for sharing. ❤️