Karwa Chauth Significance

In India, the ritual of marriage is considered to be the ultimate ritual of life. Here tying knots means promising a companionship of seven lives. In a country with intricate rituals and customs, it is believed that there is nothing more pious and stronger than the relationship of marriage. Married women is said to be the companion of their better halves in all the hay as well as bad days. According to the ancient Hindu texts, the will power of a married lady to change her husband's bad fortune into good is so strong that it can even change God's ultimate decision. So, the relationship of man and his lady are eternal and blessed.

In a country like India where marriage is far beyond worldly affairs, the institution of marriage is strengthened through several means. One of them is the festival of Karva Chauth. Karwa Chauth is regarded as the biggest occasion for the entire married woman fraternity in the country. It is said that the successful completion of this tough fast ensures a long life and prosperous future for her husband. According to the belief of people in the country any kind of deceiving in the Karwa Chauth fasting and rituals can also endanger the life of your partner. So, the rituals are to be followed very carefully.

Karwa Chauth is a very difficult fast. A woman has to spend an entire day without any food or single drop of water till the moon rise. It is said that this pain taken by a wife helps her husband get a token of blessings by the almighty. There are different stories to why this festival came in being. Some people believe that this festival of Karva Chauth was actually the day to celebrate the season of autumn and enjoy the company of friends and relatives but later on, few mythological legends were associated with it to give it a religious existence.
However, thousands of people especially Hindus and Sikh of north-western India who believe in its religious existence have several folklores related to this festival. They often associate it with the legendary story of a devoted wife (pativrata nari), Karwa and her efforts to save her husbands life. They also quote the story of Satyavan and Sati, the couple who united again despite being destined to be separated due to Sati's efforts to save Satyavan's life from Yamdoota.

However, now the festivity of Karva Chauth has not been limited to the rituals, traditions and prayers. Due to immense glorification by Bollywood, the festival has commercialized to a great extent. The markets at the time of Karwa Chauth are flooded with offers and sales. So apart from being a social and seasonal festival and religious affair, with time, it has also become a commercialized affair. With time the trend of festival have changed, however the soul of festival like the other Indian festival remains the same- a prayer for blissful and carefree life.