Hartalika Teej हरतालिका तीज
Devi · Full-day vrat
Hartalika Teej, observed on the Shukla Paksha Tritiya of Bhadrapada month, is the most sacred vrata for married and unmarried women across North India, Nepal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The Bhavishya Purana and Skanda Purana narrate that Goddess Parvati performed this nirjala vrata for one hundred years in a dense forest after her sakhis (friends) abducted (haran) her to prevent her marriage to Vishnu, which her father Himavan had arranged. Pleased by her tapasya, Lord Shiva appeared and granted her the boon of becoming his eternal consort. Married women observe the vrata for the long life and well-being of their husbands, while unmarried girls fast for a suitable Shiva-like spouse. The festival is marked by hand-painted henna, green and red bridal attire, traditional songs, and the establishment of clay idols of Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha for night-long worship.
Rituals (vidhi)
- 1.Wake before sunrise, bathe, and apply mehendi and sindoor while wearing green or red bridal saree.
- 2.Take the nirjala sankalpa to abstain from food and water for twenty-four hours.
- 3.Install clay idols of Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha on a decorated chowki at home.
- 4.Perform shodashopachara puja with bel patra, dhatura, white flowers, and panchamrita.
- 5.Recite the Hartalika Teej katha narrating Parvatis tapasya and Shivas acceptance.
- 6.Stay awake all night singing teej geet, performing aarti, and meditating on Shiva-Parvati.
- 7.Break the fast on Chaturthi morning after sunrise puja and feeding suhagins or Brahmins.
Significance
The Bhavishya Purana phala-shruti declares that any woman who observes Hartalika Teej with sincere bhakti and the strict nirjala fast attains the akhand saubhagya (unbroken marital bliss) that Parvati herself received from Shiva. Lord Shiva tells Parvati that this vrata grants seven births of the same husband, freedom from widowhood, prosperity, and progeny that uphold dharma. For unmarried girls the vrata is said to secure a husband endowed with Shivas qualities of righteousness, compassion, and devotion. The Skanda Purana adds that observing Hartalika Teej dissolves all stri-paap accumulated across lifetimes, including doshas inherited from maternal lineage, and grants direct entry to Kailasa at the time of death.
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