Swasthani Vrat Katha Starts Today: Devotees throng Shali River from early morning
Itahari. Today is Paush Shukla Purnima. From today (Thursday) to Magh Shukla Purnima, worship is done at various Shaktipeeths of Nepal during a period of one month. This tradition was started on the basis of the belief that the goddess resides in that place after the body of Sati Devi fell. From today, Vedic Sanatan Dharma devotees are starting to worship these goddesses by starting traditional Magh Snan, Swasthani fast and reading stories.
Vedic Sanatan religion followers especially those living in Nepal celebrate this festival. Hindus of India and other countries rarely worship with this method. Therefore, it is the original tradition of Nepal. Even in Nepal, most of the women observe this fast.
Jessica Ventin Birkenholz, an American citizen who has done scholarly research on healthy fasting stories in Nepal, says that this tradition is not found in other countries of South Asia. Jessica is currently working as an assistant professor of religion at the University of Illinois, USA. Jessica is one of the few western explorers who have studied and researched the Vedic civilization in Nepal.
From Paush Shukla Purnima to Magh Shukla Purnima, one month healthy fast and Magh bath are performed. On the day of Paush Shukla Chaturdashi, it starts with bathing, cutting the nails of the hands and feet, and wearing clean clothes. Mahadev is worshiped in the morning after Magha bath in the afternoon. In the evening, there is a tradition of listening and reciting the story of Swasthani Vrat, a dialogue between Magha Mahatmya and Kumar Agastya, under the Kedar section of Skanda Purana. According to the clan tradition, some read stories in the morning and some in the evening.
Fasting in this way for one month, on the full moon day of Magh Sukla, 108 betel nuts, 108 betel nuts, 108 leaves, 108 flowers, 108 roti, 108 Akshata, various kinds of fruits, incense, lamps, offering, Shrikhand, blood sandalwood, vermilion, clothes, offerings and the wishes of the fast are fulfilled. Arghya is offered to Bhagwati. Out of all the offerings, there is a fasting method of throwing eight-eight to the husband, if there is no husband, to the son, and if there is no son, to the deceased son, and if there is no deceased son, then the wish will be fulfilled.
The hundred-roti fasting person eats fruits and stays awake at night. During the Jagram, the greatness of the Goddess is heard and recited. There is a religious belief that by doing this, the wishes of the fasting person will be fulfilled. Swasthani literally means the goddess of the place where she lives.
Worshiping the goddess of the place where you live is a healthy worship. Since the time after Uttarayana is suitable for meditation yoga sadhana, it is also believed that Practicing contact with one’s soul is called Swasthani. For this, the time from Paush Shukla Purnima to Magh Shukla Purnima is considered good. Prof. Dr. Devmani Bhattarai, a theologian, informed that the Goddess with golden color, three eyes, a happy posture, sitting on a lotus and a throne, and having four hands, is a healthy goddess mentioned in the Skanda Purana.
“It is mentioned in the Puranas that among the four hands of Swasthani, the first hand is Neelkamal, the second hand is Khadga, the third hand is shield and the fourth hand is Varadamudra,” he said. It is believed that if a ritual fast is done to Goddess Yesti, the separated couple will be reunited. There is also a popular story that if you are sick, you will be cured and if you wish for someone as your husband or wife, you will get it.
The story of Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayan mountain in the Satya Yuga, fasted on the instructions of Vishnu to give Mahadev a husband, is described in Swasthani. It is mentioned in the story that Nagini, who was separated after fasting, was reunited. Historian Prakash Shrestha, who is researching the historical, religious, archeological, cultural and touristic aspects of Sankhu, informed about the story of how the Goma Brahmin fasted according to the fasting method taught by Saptarishi, and the son Navaraj Lavanya became the king of the current Sankhu region due to the effect of the fast. .
On this occasion, Madhavnarayan fair is being started from today for one month in the Shalinadi at Sankhu, which is located at a distance of 18 km in the north-eastern part of the valley. “There is a religious belief that if you come here in the month of January to bathe and see Madhavnarayan, you will get merit by washing away your sins, millions of devotees come here every year,” said historian Shrestha. All the preparations for this year’s Madhanarayan Mela at Shalinadi in Sankhu have been completed. Devotees come from different parts of the country to bathe in Shalinadi and have a darshan of Madhavnarayan and Srisvasthani.