New Delhi: Karwa Chauth is a significant Hindu festival celebrated predominantly by married women in North India. On this day, women observe a day-long fast from sunrise to moonrise, praying for the long life, health, and prosperity of their husbands. The fast is broken only after sighting the moon and offering prayers. Women begin the day with sargi, a meal given by their mother-in-law before dawn, and spend the day in prayer and ritual preparations.
Dressed in vibrant traditional attire and adorned with mehendi (henna), they gather in the evening for the Karwa Chauth puja, where they listen to the Karwa Chauth Katha (story) before offering arghya to the moon. The festival symbolizes love, commitment, and the enduring bond between husband and wife, blending devotion with cultural traditions.
Karwa Chauth words with meanings
Here are the meanings of some key words related to Karwa Chauth:
- Karwa: A small earthen pot, traditionally used in rituals during Karwa Chauth. Women fill it with water and offer it to the moon during the evening prayer.
- Chauth: This means “fourth” in Hindi, signifying that the festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon in the month of Kartik, according to the Hindu lunar calendar.
- Sargi: A pre-dawn meal that mothers-in-law give to their daughters-in-law on Karwa Chauth. It is eaten before sunrise to help women sustain their fast throughout the day.
- Vrat: A religious fast observed during Karwa Chauth, where women refrain from consuming food or water from sunrise to moonrise.
- Arghya: A ritual offering of water made to the moon as part of the evening prayers when women break their fast after sighting the moon.
- Karwa Chauth Katha: A traditional story or legend associated with Karwa Chauth that women listen to during the puja (prayer ceremony). It explains the significance of the fast and offers blessings for the well-being of husbands.
- Sindoor: Vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women in their hair parting as a symbol of their marital status. Applying sindoor is an important ritual in Karwa Chauth.
- Channi (Sieve): A sieve that women use to look at the moon through during the evening rituals before breaking their fast. They then view their husband through the same sieve.
- Mehendi (Henna): A decorative temporary tattoo applied to the hands and feet, often considered auspicious and a symbol of love and prosperity during Karwa Chauth.
- Puja Thali: A plate used in the prayer ceremony that contains items like a diya (lamp), sindoor, karwa (pot), sweets, and other sacred objects used in the rituals.
