🌾 Kajari Teej (Badi Teej / Satudi Teej) Vrat Katha
The story
The wife of a poor Brahmin took the Kajari Teej vrat and asked her husband for sattu; the Brahmin had nothing, so at night he took gram, barley, ghee and sugar from the moneylender's shop and began grinding sattu — the noise woke the moneylender, who caught him as a thief. The Brahmin said 'I am no thief, I have taken only a sava ser of sattu for my wife's vrat, nothing else'; the search proved it true; just then the Moon rose — the moneylender said 'from today your wife is my sister in dharma', and sent them home with sattu, jewellery, money and leheriya. The Brahmin's wife gave the Moon arghya and broke the fast — the house filled with wealth and grain.
Hence the customs: the sattu ball is the main prasad, paran only after seeing the Moon, the moneylender's gift — 'whoever worships Kajari Mata (Teej Mata/Parvati) and the Moon with a true heart, Neemdi Mata keeps her marital fortune and her house full'. In places this tale is called 'the tale of the sattu theft', in others it is Parvati's penance — Shiva's boon after 108 births.
The tale of the kajari songs: songs of Sawan-Bhadon in memory of Kajli Devi (Vindhyavasini) of Mirzapur — separation, clouds, the swing, longing for the parental home; the 'kajari dangal' of Banaras-Mirzapur is a heritage of folk music — these are the songs sung on Teej night.
Why this katha — the significance
The Shiva-Parvati vrat: all three Teejs commemorate Parvati's penance and her attaining Shiva — Hariyali Teej the union, on Kajari Teej (Bhadrapada Krishna) Parvati's penance of 108 births was completed and Shiva gave the boon (folk belief); hence the vrat for protecting marital fortune and the groom of one's choice; the fast is broken with the sighting of and arghya to the Moon — like Karwa Chauth, so the moonrise time is above.
The ball of sattu (of barley-gram-wheat) — made with ghee and sugar and offered in the puja, then paran from the hands of the husband/elders; 'Satudi' in Rajasthan; linked to the farming cycle — the memory of the new crop's barley and gram, the wish for clouds (kajra) — rain songs for the farming of Sawan-Bhadon.
In the old days the 'sinjara' (Kajari sinjara) from the parental home to the in-laws' on Teej — mehndi, leheriya, ghevar, bangles; the Kajli Teej fair of Bundi (Rajasthan) (the procession of Teej Mata) is famous; kajari fairs, swings and kajari singing contests in Uttar Pradesh-Bihar; 'Kajaliyan/Bhujariya' in Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh — the exchange of barley shoots on Raksha Bandhan-Kajari.
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 Kajari Teej in {Y} and when will the Moon rise?
This year's Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya date and moonrise time (Delhi) are above — the Moon of the Krishna Paksha Tritiya rises at about 8-9 at night; ±15-20 minutes in your city, check the panchang.
What is the difference between Kajari Teej and Hariyali Teej?
Hariyali Teej is Shravana Shukla Tritiya (Chhoti Teej — swings, green clothes, the union of Parvati and Shiva); Kajari/Badi Teej is Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya (15 days later — sattu, Neemdi Mata, the Moon arghya); Hartalika is Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya (waterless, night vigil, the strictest). All three are vrats for marital fortune.
Why the sattu ball?
In the katha the Brahmin took a sava ser of sattu for his wife's vrat — since then sattu (barley-gram) is the prasad of Kajari Teej; the memory of the new crop's barley and gram; balls of ghee and sugar offered in the puja and eaten from the husband's hand after the Moon arghya for paran — 'Satudi Teej'.
Who is Neemdi Mata?
A neem branch regarded as 'Neemdi Mata' (a form of Teej Mata/Parvati), planted on the bank of a clay pond and worshipped — the custom of Rajasthan-Malwa; seeing the reflection of the Moon, the sattu and the neem in its shade/the lamp's flame is auspicious; neem cures disease — the wish for both marital fortune and health.
Can an unmarried girl keep this vrat?
Yes — for the groom of her choice; the same Neemdi-Moon puja, a fruit fast; in Rajasthan girls keep both Badi Teej and Gangaur; the first vrat after marriage at the in-laws' with the sinjara.
What if it is cloudy and the Moon is not visible?
After the moonrise time (above) give the arghya in the Moon's direction (east) or worship taking the reflection in a mirror/water in the thali — then paran with sattu; the vrat is regarded as complete; do not delay too late into the night.
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