Hariyali Amavasyaहरियाली अमावस्या
Devoted to Bhagwan Krishna, Bhagwan Shiva, Mata Parvati, and Vriksha Devata · Annually on Shravan Amavasya (July-August)
Significance
Hariyali Amavasya, literally meaning the new moon of greenery, is the joyous monsoon festival observed on the Amavasya of the holy month of Shravan, when the parched Indian landscape transforms into a lush emerald carpet under the blessings of the monsoon rains. Falling exactly three days before Hariyali Teej and approximately a fortnight before Krishna Janmashtami, this day is considered the spiritual gateway into the festive season of Shravan and Bhadrapad. The festival is intimately associated with Bhagwan Krishna, whose pre-Janmashtami leelas in the verdant forests of Vrindavan and Govardhan are remembered with great devotion, and with Bhagwan Shiva, whose entire month of Shravan is dedicated to abhishek and worship. The central tradition involves planting saplings of sacred trees such as peepal, neem, banyan, mango, ashoka, and tulsi.
Who Observes
Observed by devotees of Krishna and Shiva, married women seeking marital harmony, farmers offering gratitude for the monsoon, environmentally conscious devotees, and pilgrims to Braj Bhoomi. Special participation by Vaishnavas of the Pushtimarg sampradaya at Nathdwara.
Fasting Rules (Upvas Niyam)
- •Observe a satvik phalahar fast with fruits, milk, and water from sunrise until the evening Krishna puja
- •Avoid all grains, lentils, salt, onion, garlic, and tamasic foods throughout the day
- •Refrain from cutting trees, plucking leaves unnecessarily, or harming any living creature including insects
- •Maintain truthfulness, non-violence, and harmony in family interactions throughout the vrat
- •Married women should wear green sarees, green bangles, and green ornaments as a mark of fertility and auspiciousness
- •Break the fast after sunset by offering bhog to Krishna, performing arati, and consuming tulsi-charanamrit
Rituals (Puja Vidhi)
- Pre-dawn snan with water mixed with neem and tulsi leaves, followed by donning of fresh green or yellow garments
- Planting of sacred saplings (peepal, neem, banyan, mango, tulsi, ashoka) in the home, garden, or community spaces with ritual water and mantras
- Worship of the planted sapling with kalava, roli, akshat, water, milk, and offering of jaggery and grains
- Performing abhishek of Shiva linga with ganga jal, milk, bel patra, and dhatura, accompanied by Rudra mantras
- Worship of Bhagwan Krishna in His balaroop with tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, peacock feather, and offering of makhan-mishri bhog
- Setting up of decorated jhula (swing) for the Krishna idol, gently swinging the deity while singing Shravan jhula bhajans
- Evening deepdaan under the planted tree or at the family shrine, with daan of green vegetables, fruits, and dakshina to Brahmins
Prasad
Makhan-mishri, kheer, malpua, ghewar, seasonal fruits, tulsi charanamrit, and panchamrit offered to Krishna
Benefits (Phal)
Observing Hariyali Amavasya with devotion and the sacred act of tree planting bestows manifold spiritual, material, and ecological blessings upon the devotee and their family. Planting a single peepal, banyan, or neem tree on this day is said to confer the punya equivalent to performing ten thousand ashvamedha yajnas. Married women observing this vrat are blessed with marital harmony, longevity of husbands, fertility, and the joy of healthy children. The worship of Bhagwan Krishna in His childhood form removes inherited karmic afflictions, blesses progeny with virtues and intelligence, and fills the home with prosperity. Shiva abhishek performed during Shravan multiplies in potency on this day, granting freedom from chronic diseases and severe planetary doshas.
Primary Mantra
Vrat Katha (Story Origin)
The mahatmya of Hariyali Amavasya is woven into the rich tapestry of Krishna leela and the cosmic significance of the Shravan month described in the Bhavishya Purana, Garga Samhita, and Skanda Purana. After the legendary Govardhan leela, when the young Krishna lifted the mighty Govardhan hill on His little finger for seven continuous days and nights to shelter the residents of Vrindavan from the wrath of Indra torrential rains, the entire Braj Bhoomi was transformed. When Krishna finally lowered the mountain on the eighth day, the rains had so thoroughly drenched the parched land that overnight the entire region burst forth in lush, vibrant greenery — every tree sprouted new leaves, every flower bloomed in abundance. This miraculous transformation occurred precisely on the Shravan Amavasya, and the overjoyed gopas and gopis celebrated by planting saplings, decorating the kunjas with fresh leaves, and swinging the young Krishna on flower-bedecked jhulas under the trees.
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