How is Jaya Parvati Vrat Observed?

Jaya Parvati Vrat is a Hindu festival that is majorly celebrated by married women and unmarried girls in Gujarat and other parts of West India with utmost dedication. The fast is observed in honour of Goddess Jaya, considered to be one of the various forms of Maa Parvati. It is undertaken for five consecutive days during the Hindu Ashada between the Trayodashi of the Shukla Paksha and the Tritiya on Krishna Paksha.

Married women observe the fast for the long life of their partners and marital bliss. They also perform the vrat and related poojas to be bestowed with healthy children. On the other hand, unmarried girls follow the vrat related rituals for a loving and caring husband.

Story of Jaya Parvati Vrat

As per a legend, there once lived a brahmin couple who were staunch devotees of Lord Shiva. They were content with what they had in life. However, their only sorrow was that they did not have an offspring. They visited a Shiva temple every day and prayed wholeheartedly to the lord requesting Him to hear their sorrow.

Lord Shiva was touched with their devotion and revealed to them that there was a Shiva linga in a nearby forest at a certain place. He said that no one worshipped it or performed its pooja. He told the couple to go there and do a pooja for the linga and added that they would be blessed with a child if they did so.

The couple was overjoyed and went to the forest right away. They found the linga and began making preparations for the pooja. The man went in search of flowers and shortly after was bitten by a snake. When he did not return after a long time, his wife became worried and anxious. She went in search of him and found him unconscious. She immediately started praying to Lord Shiva to save her husband and for his safety. Lord Shiva was pleased with the woman and  Maa Parvati revived her husband. The couple then performed the pooja for the linga as instructed and was blessed with a progeny.

Jaya Parvati Vrat Rituals

There are some interesting rituals associated with the Jaya Parvati Vrat. On the very first day of the vrat, a small earthen pot or bowl with javara or wheat seeds planted in it is kept in the pooja room and watered. A necklace called nagla is tied around the neck or edges of the pot. This necklace is made of cotton wool and is decorated with turmeric. This ritual is observed every day by women after a bath with the seeds being watered every morning and the nagla being tied around the pot on all five days.

Married women and unmarried girls render different prayers to Lord Shiva. They also perform poojas in honour of Lord Shiva and His consort Goddess Parvati. One of the most important poojas carried out during the vrat period is the Uma Maheswari pooja. Women also offer bhog and flowers to the deities on these days.

The last day of the fast is very important and is the day before Gauri Tritiya. Female members undertaking the fast stay up whole night and chant various bhajans and religious hymns as well as perform artis. This is referred to as Jaya Parvati Jagran.

Devotees follow certain food restrictions on all five days that they observe the vrat. They eat only food that does not contain salt and spices. They also abstain from wheat-based food and vegetables like tomatoes. Girls also avoid milk and milk based products, juices and fruits.

On the sixth day or the day after the fast, the observers of the fast pull out the wheat grass and immerse it in a nearby water body. The vrat is ended after a morning pooja. As part of the vrat samarpan, the fast undertakers also listen to the story associated with Jaya Parvati vrat and do an aarti. This is followed by feeding a few Brahmins if possible and offering them some dakshina and daan and seeking their blessings if possible. The vrat is finally broken by consuming a meal with salt, wheat and vegetables that were avoided during the fasting period.

Female members of the family who undertake this vrat generally observe it consecutively for five, seven, nine or eleven years. Some of them even follow it for a continuous period of twenty years. Goddess Parvarti showers Her grace on those who follow the fast with complete dedication and sincerity and also blesses them with happiness and prosperity in their lives.

Written by - Deepthi K