💚 Hariyali Teej (Shravani / Chhoti Teej) Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the North-Indian household vidhi — sinjara and mehndi a day earlier, green shringar on Teej, Shiva-Parvati puja, swings and songs.
How to do Hariyali Teej (Shravani / Chhoti Teej) — the steps
- A day earlier (Dwitiya — sinjara): mehndi, green bangles, a leheriya saree, ghewar-feeni and shringar from the parents' home to the daughter (new bride); mehndi on hands and feet in the evening, songs with friends.
- Teej morning: bathe, green/leheriya saree, solah shringar, green bangles (old ones off, new ones on), bindi-sindoor; sankalp — 'I keep the Hariyali Teej vrat for my husband's longevity/a good husband and good fortune' — waterless/fruit.
- Puja (in the day or Pradosh — time above): a green/red cloth on a wooden seat, images of Shiva-Parvati-Ganesha in clay/sand or a picture (many homes a clay idol of Teej Mata); kalash; solah shringar for Parvati — bangles, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, kajal, chunari, comb, mirror, garland (green bel-mango leaves); bel leaves, datura and water for Shiva.
- Mantra — 'Om Umamaheshwarabhyam Namah'; the Teej katha (below) heard by the married women together; aarti; bhog of ghewar-malpua-kheer.
- Bayana/sindhara: after the katha give shringar, clothes and ghewar to the mother-in-law (or the eldest of the house) and touch her feet; share green bangles and mehndi with married women; girls take the blessings of the older women.
- The swing: a swing on mango or neem at home/in the neighbourhood, Sawan songs (kajri/jhoola/malhar), girls and friends; in the evening the Teej Mata procession/fair (Jaipur-Agra-Banaras).
- Breaking the fast: after the Pradosh puja (there is no moon arghya custom — this is not a Chaturthi/Chauth); water and a sweet from the husband's hand; if the new bride returns from her parents' home, with the sindhara.
- Nag Panchami two days later, Kajari Teej fifteen days later (Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya) and Hartalika a month later (Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya) — the Teej trio.
Puja samagri checklist
Green bangles, mehndi, leheriya and ghewar in the sinjara; Shiva-Parvati and the 16 suhag items in the puja.
- Images of Shiva-Parvati-Ganesha (clay/sand/picture) or a Teej Mata idol, wooden seat, green-red cloth, kalash
- Parvati's solah shringar: green bangles, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, kajal, chunari (green/red), comb, mirror, alta, anklets/toe-rings (symbolic), garland
- For Shiva: bel leaves, datura, aak, water-milk, sandalwood, bhasma; durva for Ganesha
- Roli, akshat, turmeric, kumkum, mauli, green leaves (bel-mango-neem), flowers (marigold-rose-mogra)
- Bhog: ghewar, feeni, malpua, kheer, poori, halwa, fruit (jamun-mango-cucumber)
- Sinjara/bayana: mehndi, green bangles, leheriya/green saree, ghewar, sweets, shringar items, dakshina
- Swing: rope, plank; kajri/jhoola songs
- Lamp, incense, camphor, aarti thali; Teej katha book
Ghewar, feeni, malpua — the Teej kitchen of Sawan
Hariyali Teej is synonymous with ghewar — a lacy sweet of maida and ghee, soaked in syrup, topped with rabdi and nuts; ghewar-feeni from the parents' home in the sinjara; the fast fruit/waterless, poori-kheer after the puja.
- Ghewar (malai/rabdi ghewar): a thin batter of maida, ghee and cold water poured in a stream into a round mould in hot ghee to form the lace, dipped in syrup, rabdi-pistachio — also from the market (every halwai in Sawan)
- Feeni (a thread-like sweet), malpua, kheer, balushahi, gujiya (some regions)
- Fast day: fruit (mango-jamun-banana), milk, coconut water; those keeping it waterless after the Pradosh puja
- After the puja: poori with potato-pumpkin, kheer, halwa, cucumber; kheer-poori-malpua at the Teeyan of Punjab-Haryana; thekua-kheer in Bihar-UP (till Kajari Teej)
- To share with married women: ghewar + green bangles + mehndi — the Teej 'bayana'
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Green — saree, bangles, mehndi: the mark of Teej; new bangles on this day
- Solah shringar for Shiva-Parvati, the katha with the married women; bayana to the mother-in-law
- Swing, kajri songs, celebration with friends and sisters — part of the vrat
- The new bride at her parents' home, the sindhara from the in-laws — gifts from both sides
- Girls keep the vrat too — for the husband of their choice
❌ Don't
- No black or white clothes or broken bangles on Teej
- No old or weak rope or branch for the swing — safety for girls
- No insisting on a waterless fast for the pregnant/unwell — fruit
- No quarrels or disrespect to elders — it is a festival of good fortune
- Do not leave children alone in the mehndi/bangle markets in the Sawan rain
Vrat katha
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) an… Read the full katha →
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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