Enthusiasm for Teej, the Festival of Marital Bliss and Dedication, Women Observe Fast

The festival of Teej, celebrating marital bliss and dedication, was observed with enthusiasm in the district. Married women in the district participated in the Teej fast with full devotion, praying to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for the long life and unbroken good fortune of their husbands. Women observed a waterless fast throughout the day and performed prayers with deep devotion. Preparations for the fast began early in the morning in both urban and rural areas, with prayer ceremonies organized in various places. Priests conducted the rituals, narrating the Haritalika Teej fast story to the married women, and completed the prayers and fast. According to the mythological story, Haritalika Teej is a festival celebrated in the form of the union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. According to the story, when Sati took birth as Goddess Parvati in the house of the mountain king Himalaya in her next birth, due to the previous birth’s traditions, she went to the forest to perform severe penance to get Lord Shankar as her husband. Pleased with the penance of Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva appeared before her, and on the day of Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya, he promised to accept Goddess Parvati as his wife. Finally, the mountain king Himalaya performed the marriage of Shiva and Parvati in a proper manner. It is believed that since then, married women observe the Haritalika Teej fast with full rituals for the long life and good fortune of their husbands.