Celebrating Karwa Chauth: Traditions, Significance, and Rituals for a Happy Marriage

The festival of Karwa Chauth is celebrated with great pomp by women. Karwa Chauth is a festival of love between husband and wife, on this day wives keep a nirjala fast for their husbands and break their fast after the moon rises. As a result of this fast, the husband lives a long life and lives a healthy life.

Table of Contents

1. Tithi, Shubh Muhurat and Moonrise timing of Karwa Chauth 2024
2. Importance of Karwa Chauth
3. Karwa Chauth Puja Vidhi
4. What Should Women Wear?
5. Vrat Katha: The Story Behind Karwa Chauth
6. Modern Celebrations and Husbands' Participation
7. Regional Variations of Karwa Chauth Celebrations

Tithi, Shubh Muhurat and moonrise timing of Karwa Chauth 2024

Karwa Chauth 2024 Tithi-
This year's Chaturthi Tithi begins on October 20, 2024, a Sunday after 6:46 a.m., and ends on October 21, 2024, at 4:16 a.m.

Karwa Chauth 2024 Shubh Muhurat
Brahma Muhurta on Karwa Chauth will be from 4:44 to 5:35 a.m.
The Abhijeet Muhurta timing will be 11:43 a.m. until 12:28 p.m.
The Vijay Muhurta will last from 1:59 to 2:45 p.m.

Moonrise on Karwa Chauth (2024 Chand Timings) The moonrise timing for Karwa Chauth is October 20 at 07:54 p.m. However, the time of moonrise in various states and cities around the country may differ somewhat. 

Importance of Karva Chauth

This fast was first observed by Goddess Parvati for Lord Shiva. According to other beliefs, Draupadi also observed Karva Chauth fast to free the Pandavas from trouble. According to another belief, when the demons had conquered the gods, all the gods requested Brahma ji, then he asked the wives of all the gods to observe this fast. And they observed this fast for their husbands and as a result the gods won. Since then every married woman started observing this fast for the long life of her husband.

Karwa Chauth Puja Vidhi

1. After taking a bath on the day of Karva Chauth, clean the temple and light a lamp. Then remember Gaurishankar and take a vow to fast.
2. In the evening, after taking bath again, make a panel of wheat at the place of worship and after that grind rice and make a picture of Karva.
3. After this, prepare Athwari, Halwa and food. On this day, the Shiv family is worshipped. Make a statue of the mother and seat Ganesha in her lap.
4. Decorate them and place a vessel filled with water in front of them and also keep a karva (a pot) through which arghya will be offered to the moon and make a sathiya on it.
5. Worship the Shiv family according to the rituals and pray to them for the long life of your husband.
6. During the story, keep 13 grains of wheat or rice in your hand.
7. After the puja, as soon as the moon rises, look at your husband through a sieve and take water from his hand and break your fast.

What should women wear?

Women are very fond of dressing up at any festival but it is important that the right colour is chosen. According to many beliefs, some colours are not considered auspicious for worship, which are - black colour, white colour or brown colour, these are considered very inauspicious, so you should try that these colours are not in your chosen clothes. These are considered inauspicious because these colours are associated with negativity and Karva Chauth is a day of positivity, prayer and love. Avoiding these colours is a symbol of staying away from any negative energy and inviting pure, positive energy.

Vrat Katha: The story behind Karwa Chauth

It was a long time ago, a money lender had seven sons and they had a sister named Karva. All the seven brothers loved their sister very much. They would even feed her first and then eat themselves. Once their sister had come to her parents' house from her in-laws' house.

In the evening, when the brothers came home after closing their business, they saw that their sister was very upset. All the brothers sat down to eat and started urging their sister to eat too, but the sister told that today she is observing a waterless fast of Karva Chauth and she can eat food only after seeing the moon and offering Arghya to it. Since the moon has not yet risen, she is restless due to hunger and thirst. The youngest brother cannot see his sister's condition and he lights a lamp on a distant Peepal tree and places it under a sieve. From a distance, it appears as if the moon of Chaturthi is rising.

After this, the brother tells his sister that the moon has risen, you can eat food after offering Arghya to it. The sister climbs the stairs in happiness and looks at the moon, offers it arghya and sits down to eat. When she puts the first piece in her mouth, she sneezes. When she puts the second piece in her mouth, she finds a hair in it and as soon as she tries to put the third piece in her mouth, she gets the news of her husband's death. She gets upset. Her sister-in-law tells her the truth about why this happened to her. Due to breaking the fast of Karva Chauth in the wrong way, the gods have become angry with her and have done this. Then she corrected her mistake and then the next year she kept the fast of Karva Chauth and prayed that she gets her husband. As a result, her husband becomes alive.

Modern Celebrations and Husbands' Participation

Nowadays husbands also keep the fast of Karva Chauth for the safety of their wives and to support them. Which shows their love, today's young generation proves in every field that both sexes are equal, this step of husbands indicates towards a developed society. 

Regional Variations of Karwa Chauth Celebrations

Different types of celebrations in different states
The fast of Karwa Chauth is mainly celebrated in the northern states which are Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan. A different trend is prevalent in urban areas in which married women gather together and organise a puja, and after breaking the fast at night, they go to a hotel with their families. In the southern states, this fast is observed only by a small community. In Andhra Pradesh, it is known and celebrated as Atla Taddi.