🌳 Karma / Karam Parv (Karma Ekadashi) Vrat Katha
The story
Dharma and Karma were two brothers — Karma went abroad to trade, Dharma farmed at home and worshipped the Karam deity. When Karma returned with his earnings he saw the preparations for the Karma festival at home — everyone dancing around the Karam branch, no one came to receive him; in anger Karma pulled out the Karam branch and threw it in the river, trampled the jawa. That very moment all his wealth was lost — his trade sank, the house was ruined, disease and poverty; his wife said 'you have insulted the Karam deity'.
Karma repented and set out in search of the Karam deity — on the way he met dry wells, fruitless trees, a leper, a lonely woman — all asked 'ask the Karam deity about our sorrow too'; at last he found the Karam branch floating in the river, held it and begged forgiveness, worshipped it by the rules — the Karam deity was pleased, his wealth returned; on the way back he received the answers to the questions too — the well of one who gave no charity dried up, the tree of one who did not share its fruit bore none… The lesson — no disrespect to karma (Karam) and the Karam deity, prosperity through labour, charity and faith; hence the worship of the Karam branch on Karma and the sisters' fast for the brother's fortune.
Folk forms: in places the tale of seven brothers and their sister (the sister kept the Karma vrat for the brothers, the sisters-in-law threw away the jawa → calamity → recovered through the sister's vrat); 'Karam Raja' the harvest deity among the Oraon-Munda, 'Karam Gosain' among the Santhals; the Karma songs ('Karam Raja aayo re…') are the tunes of these tales; a state-level celebration led by the Chief Minister on Bhado Karam in Jharkhand.
Why this katha — the significance
Karam = karma (fate/labour) and the Karam tree — Karam Raja (the Karam deity) is the god of harvest, children, prosperity and fortune; the tale of Dharma and Karma (below) teaches reverence for karma — whoever disrespects the Karam branch/karma loses everything; in Bhadrapada the paddy is growing in the fields — the wish for a good harvest, the 'jawa' (new sprouts) = the symbol of fertility.
A women's festival: sisters fast all day for the brother (many waterless), tend the jawa basket for nine days (water-lamp-song), dance all night around the Karam branch; the next morning tucking jawa sprouts behind the brother's ear/on his head = the blessing of protection — the tribal equivalent of Raksha Bandhan; married sisters come to their parental home.
The forms of Karma: 'Bhado Karam/Ind Karam' on Bhadrapada Shukla Ekadashi (the main), 'Jitiya Karam' in some regions (Ashwin Krishna Ashtami — with Jitiya), 'Dussehra Karam', 'Raji Karam' (of the tribal kings) — the Jharkhand government holiday is on Bhado Karam; the Karma dance is folk heritage in Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh (mandar, nagara, jhumar songs).
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.
📿 Karma / Karam Parv (Karma Ekadashi) puja vidhi (step by step) →
Frequently asked questions
When is Karma in {Y}?
This year's Bhadrapada Shukla Ekadashi (Bhado Karam) date is above — in the North-Indian panchang this is the Parivartini (Jaljhulani) Ekadashi; the jawa is sown 7-9 days earlier (Shukla Tritiya-Panchami); the immersion the next morning (Dwadashi); the dates of the Jitiya Karam/Dussehra Karam of some regions differ — match with the village pahan/panchang.
Whose festival is Karma — only the tribals'?
Originally of the tribal communities (Munda-Oraon-Santhal-Ho-Kharia-Baiga-Gond) and the Kurmi-Mahato community of Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh-Odisha, but all village communities (rural Hindus) celebrate together; a state festival in Jharkhand — everyone dances in the cities; being a brother-sister and harvest festival it has the spirit of Raksha Bandhan, open to all.
What is the jawa and how to grow it?
Sowing seeds of barley, wheat, maize, urad and gram in a new bamboo basket filled with river sand-soil — 7-9 days before Karma; unmarried girls give water and turmeric daily after bathing, sing jawa songs, the basket in a high pure place; on Karma night the jawa beside the Karam branch, the next morning the sprouts behind the brother's ear and in the field — the symbol of fertility, prosperity and the brother's protection (like the barley shoots of Navratri).
Which tree is the Karam? What if no branch is available?
Karam = *Adina cordifolia* of the haldu/kadamba family (the Karam/karam gachha) — a tree of the forests of Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh; the young men bring the branch without letting it touch the ground; if unavailable, a branch of shami, peepal, bel or kadamba, or a picture of the Karam deity — the spirit is the same; migrant communities in cities usually plant a shami branch.
What vrat do the sisters keep and what does the brother do?
The sisters (unmarried and married) keep a waterless/fruit fast all day for the brother's long life and fortune, tend the jawa, worship the Karam branch and hear the katha, dance at night; the brother brings the branch, takes the jawa sprout behind his ear from the sister the next morning and gives her a gift — like Raksha Bandhan; married sisters come to their parental home.
What is the Karma dance?
The night-long communal dance of women and men in a circle around the Karam branch — mandar, nagara, cymbals, flute; the Karma-jhumar songs ('Karam Raja…', damkach); the state folk dance of Chhattisgarh, the heritage of Jharkhand-Odisha and the tea gardens of Assam; the dress — a red-bordered sari, flower crowns, the men in dhoti and turban.
🏠 Karma / Karam Parv (Karma Ekadashi) 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals