पर्व और व्रत

Pārvatī’s own vow. Women keep it — many without food or water — for a marriage as steadfast as that of Śiva and Pārvatī; unmarried girls keep it for a worthy husband. The name joins harita, “carried off”, and ālikā, “a friend”.

The birthday of Gaṇeśa — remover of obstacles, lord of beginnings, patron of letters and learning. A clay image is brought home, worshipped for one and a half, five, seven or ten days, and returned to the water on Ananta Caturdaśī: form arises from the formless and goes back to it.

The day of the Seven Sages — Kaśyapa, Atri, Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Vasiṣṭha — with Arundhatī. It is a vow of purification and of gratitude to the seers from whom the Veda and the family lines (gotras) descend.

The vow of Ananta — Viṣṇu the Endless, resting on the serpent Śeṣa. A thread of fourteen knots is worshipped and tied on the arm; the vow is kept for fourteen years to recover what was lost and to make prosperity lasting. The ten-day Gaṇeśa festival closes today with immersion.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The fortnight of the ancestors. For sixteen lunar days the pitṛs are said to draw near their descendants, and food and water offered in their name reaches them. Each ancestor is remembered on the tithi of their passing; the offering is an act of gratitude that blesses the living with health, children and prosperity.

The new moon that closes the ancestors’ fortnight. Every ancestor — whether the day of passing is known or not — may be honoured today, which is why it is Sarvapitṛ, “of all the fathers”. In Bengal it is Mahālaya, the dawn on which the Goddess is invited to begin her journey to earth.

The nine nights of the Goddess in autumn — three for Durgā who destroys, three for Lakṣmī who nourishes, three for Sarasvatī who illumines; or, in the northern reckoning, one for each of the Nava-Durgās from Śailaputrī to Siddhidātrī. The Goddess herself promises in the Devī Māhātmya that those who hear her glory in the great autumn worship will be freed from every trouble and blessed with wealth, grain and children.

The nine nights of the Goddess in autumn — three for Durgā who destroys, three for Lakṣmī who nourishes, three for Sarasvatī who illumines; or, in the northern reckoning, one for each of the Nava-Durgās from Śailaputrī to Siddhidātrī. The Goddess herself promises in the Devī Māhātmya that those who hear her glory in the great autumn worship will be freed from every trouble and blessed with wealth, grain and children.