Karwa Chauth Katha: The Story of Veeravati

The story in brief

Karwa Chauth is a fast kept by married women on Kartika Krishna Chaturthi (Purnimanta), which is Ashwin Krishna Chaturthi in the Amanta calendar. The story told with it is that of Veeravati. Tellings differ, so follow your family's version.

Veeravati was the only sister of seven brothers who loved her dearly. In some tellings she is a queen, and in others a Brahmin's daughter. After her marriage she came to her parents' home for her first Karwa Chauth. She kept the fast from sunrise, but by evening she was weak from hunger and thirst, and she longed for the moon.

Her brothers could not bear to watch. They set a trick. One of them climbed a tree at a distance with a lamp and a sieve, so that it looked like the moon. In other tellings it is a mirror in the tree, or a fire behind a hill. The others told her the moon had risen. Veeravati believed them, offered water to the false moon and broke her fast.

At once things went wrong. Tellings mention a hair in her food, a sneeze, and a summons from her husband's home. When she arrived, her husband was dead.

Veeravati wept through the night. A goddess came to her, Indrani in some tellings and Parvati in others. She told her that the fast had been broken before the true moon, and she advised her to keep the vow again with full devotion. Veeravati did, and her husband was restored.

Other stories are also told with this day. In one, a devoted wife named Karva binds a crocodile that has seized her husband with cotton thread. She demands that Yama (= the god of death) send it away, and he grants her husband a long life.

What it teaches

• Devotion and patience. The story shows love that waits and does not give up, even after loss.
• Well-meant tricks can hurt. The brothers act out of love, and the result is harm.
• A vow is a promise to keep with care. Many tellers stress waiting for the true moon.
• Care for the one who fasts. Many families today also read it as a reminder that the fast is a choice, and that your health matters more than any rule.

The traditional tellings promise a long life for the husband. This site does not promise results. Many couples simply see the day as a shared one.

How the vrat is kept

• Before sunrise, the women eat sargi, a light meal that in many families the mother-in-law gives.
• Make a sankalpa (= a quiet resolve) to keep the fast until the moon is seen.
• Spend the day in prayer and rest. Many women apply mehendi and wear festive clothes.
• In the afternoon or evening, women gather to hear the katha and worship Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha with a karwa (= small pot), a lamp and sweets.
• After moonrise, look at the moon through a sieve, offer water, and then look at your husband through the same sieve. The order differs a little between families.
• The husband offers the first sip of water and the first bite of food to break the fast.

The moon rises at a different time in every city, so check the time the site shows for your city. The traditional fast takes no food or water, but a lighter fast with water, fruit or juice is also kept. People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, children and the elderly should follow their doctor's advice and may keep a lighter fast. If you feel faint or unwell, drink water and break the fast. Customs vary; follow your family's way or your priest's guidance.