💚 Hariyali Teej (Shravani / Chhoti Teej) Vrat Katha
The story
Parvati was the daughter of the Himalaya; from childhood she took Shiva as her husband. Her father Himavan, on Narada's advice, fixed her marriage with Vishnu; with a friend's help Parvati went into the forest (harit) and, in a cave, made a Shivling of sand and did severe penance — from this abduction by the friend the later Teej is called 'Hartalika'; but on Shravana Shukla Tritiya Shiva appeared and accepted Parvati as his wife — a union amid greenery, hence 'Hariyali Teej'.
Shiva reminded Parvati of her penance in 107 earlier births — in the 108th birth she received the boon; so a woman who worships Shiva and Parvati on this day gains unbroken good fortune and a girl the husband of her choice — Shiva's boon. At the end of the katha, victory to Teej Mata (Parvati).
Folk story (Rajasthan-Haryana) — a merchant's daughter kept the Teej vrat with faith, but her mother-in-law told her to keep it without shringar or a swing; Teej Mata said in a dream — 'On Teej, shringar, green bangles, the swing and songs are also part of the vrat — I dwell in the celebration'; since then Hariyali Teej is a vrat with celebration, not austerity.
Why this katha — the significance
Teej = Tritiya — the tithi of Gauri; Hariyali Teej is the day of worshipping Parvati (Teej Mata): the festival of the union of Shiva and Parvati, so a newly married woman's first Sawan is at her parents' home and the 'sindhara/sinjara' (clothes, sweets, shringar) comes from the in-laws on Teej — the thread of love between the two homes.
Green is the colour of Sawan, prosperity and suhag — green bangles are changed on this day, the darker the mehndi the deeper the husband's love (folk belief); the swing — the swing of Krishna-Radha/Shiva-Parvati, a rope-and-plank swing on neem or mango; the songs of Sawan — kajri, jhoola, 'Jhoola pad gayo ambua ki daar'.
The fast is waterless/fruit (many homes only puja and celebration); the Teej procession of Jaipur (the royal procession of Teej Mata), the kajri of Banaras-Mirzapur, the 'Teeyan' of Haryana-Punjab (swings and gidda) — all of Sawan revolves around it.
How the katha is heard
- Hear or read the katha after the puja, before the aarti — the whole family sits together.
- The one keeping the vrat should listen with a calm mind; keep a lamp lit and a little akshat-flowers in hand.
- At the end, offer the flowers at the deity's feet and bow; share the prasad with everyone.
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Frequently asked questions
When is Hariyali Teej in {Y}?
The date at the top is this year's Shravana Shukla Tritiya — from panchang calculations; the Abhijit/Pradosh puja time (Delhi) is shown too. If the Tritiya touches no sunrise (tithi kshaya), the day on which the Tritiya is present is the day.
What is the difference between Hariyali, Kajari and Hartalika Teej?
All three are Gauri-Tritiya vrats — Hariyali Teej on Shravana Shukla Tritiya (Sawan, swings and mehndi, celebration-centred); Kajari Teej on Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya (15 days later — neem worship, moon arghya, Bundelkhand-Rajasthan); Hartalika Teej on Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya (a month later — waterless, the strictest, UP-Bihar-Maharashtra).
What is sinjara/sindhara?
The gift sent from the parents' home to the daughter/bride a day before Teej (or on Teej) — mehndi, green bangles, leheriya, ghewar-feeni, shringar; the 'sindhara' from the in-laws to the new bride — a thread of love from both sides.
Is arghya offered to the moon on Teej?
Not on Hariyali Teej — it is not a Chauth; the fast ends after the Pradosh puja. Kajari Teej has the custom of moon arghya (Krishna Tritiya — a late moon).
Why green bangles?
Green is the colour of Sawan's greenery, prosperity and suhag — taking off the old bangles and wearing new green ones on this day repeats Parvati's shringar; the deeper the mehndi, the deeper the love — folk belief.
Are Mangalagaur and Hariyali Teej the same?
The spirit is one — the Sawan vrat of a newly married woman; in Maharashtra Mangalagaur on every Tuesday of Shravana (Gauri puja, fugdi-jhimma all night), in the north the Teej of the Tritiya; Marathi homes keep Mangalagaur instead of Teej.
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