Karva Chauth

How it is kept

1. 01

   Sargi eaten before sunrise

2. 02

   A waterless fast through the day

3. 03

   Evening katha and the passing of puja thalis in a circle

4. 04

   Arghya to the moon from the karva, seen through a sieve

01Karva and Veeravati

The karva is the clay pot with a spout, filled with water and offered to the moon. The katha most often told is of Veeravati, a young wife with seven brothers, who grew faint from the fast. Her brothers lit a fire behind a tree and held a sieve before it so she would think the moon had risen; she broke her fast, and word came that her husband had died. She kept the vrata faithfully for a year, and by Parvati’s grace he was restored. The fast is waterless, and women worship Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Kartikeya painted on the wall or on a cloth.

02Sargi to moonrise

Before dawn the mother-in-law sends sargi, a meal of fruit, sweets and mathri, eaten before the sun is up. The day goes in mehndi and dressing as a bride. In the late afternoon the women sit in a circle, the eldest tells the katha, and the thalis go round seven times to a song. When the moon is up, the wife looks at it through a sieve, then at her husband’s face, offers water from the karva and takes her first sip from his hand.

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