Vat Savitri Puja 2024: Time, Pooja Vidhi, and Benefits

 Vat Savitri Pooja vrat or Jyeshtha Amavasya, is an important Hindu festival. In Gujarat and Maharashtra, people observe it as Vat PurnimaVrat, but in many north Indian states, it is observed as Jyeshtha Amavasya. Hindu women observe fast and offer prayers to the gods for their husband’s long life and well-being on this day.

 

Jyeshtha Amavasya 2024 is on Thursday, June 6, 2024, while Vat Purnima Vrat is on Friday, June 21, 2024

 

Vat Savitri Vrat is an important ritual for married Hindu women. It falls either on a full moon day (Purnima) or no moon day (Amavasya) in Jyeshtha month. Trayodashi, or the 13th day, is the start of the vrat or fast, which lasts until Purnima or Amavasya.

 

As per Hindu mythology, Savitri persuaded Yama, the God of Death, to restore the life of her husband, Satyavan. Satyavan met with an untimely death. But, seeing her devotion, Yama had to bring him back to life. Married women have been praying to the ‘Vat’ (Bargad) tree since then, and Savitri is also honored as Devi Savitri on this day.




Vat Savitri Pooja

 

The Vat Savitri Vrat is also called Vat Amavasya. Married women tie a sacred thread around a banyan tree on this day. The story behind this fast finds mention in the Mahabharata.

 

Interestingly, the Skanda Purana and Bhavishya Purana say that it is not good to fast on the Purnima in Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month, but Nirnayamrita and some other texts claim that it is allowed. Most Vaishnavites observe this fast on full moon days.

 

Vat is the banyan tree, which has great importance in Hinduism. The Puranas claim that Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, who comprise the Trimurti, reside in the vat.


 

Significance of Vat Savitri Pooja

 

Vat Savitri Pooja reminds us of the power of wifely devotion and love. Yama, the god of death, makes no exceptions when taking what is due to him. Even those who have wealth and power cannot escape Yama’s paasa (rope). But Savitri, the wife of a humble man, a hermit’s son, was able to outwit Yama and make him bring her dead husband back to life. Savitri’s story underscores the fact that a wife’s love can work miracles for her husband. Savitri is the epitome of a chaste wife who had married Satyavan, knowing full well that he would die young. But this did not deter her from marrying him. Vat Savitri Pooja thus highlights values like chastity, commitment, and virtue that are essential for a spouse. Such values underpin the institution of marriage, which is a holy bond that brings two people together.

 

On this day, married women offer prayers to the vat or banyan tree. The celebrations occur twice a year and follow the Hindu lunar calendar.

 

Many holy texts and Puranas, like the Skanda Purana, Bhavishyottara Purana, Mahabharata, etc., mention the significance of the fast.

 

Vat Savitri Pooja Katha

 

King Ashvapati was the ruler of the Madra kingdom. He was childless. A sage advised him to perform a Pooja to honor the Sun God Savitr. Pleased with the Pooja, the deity blessed them with a daughter, whom they named Savitri. The girl lived a simple life despite being born a princess.

 

Soon, it was time for her marriage. But her suitors were intimidated by her beauty and intelligence. Finally, the king told her to find a husband herself. One day, Savitri met Satyavan, the son of an exiled king, Dyumatena, who had lost his kingdom. His father was blind as well. Satyavan was virtuous and handsome and made a living as a woodcutter. He also had to care for his aged parents. When she told the king about her choice, Sage Narada said that Satyavan was destined to die within a year.

 

King Ashvapati tried to make Savitri change her mind. But she refused. So he finally agreed to the marriage. As Satyavan’s parents lived in the forest, Savitri also left the comforts of her palace and began to live in the forest as a hermit, which suited both her temperament and her husband’s circumstances.

 

As the days passed, and the date of Satyavan’s death drew near, Savitri began to fast. The fast began three days before the day he was supposed to die. On the designated day, Savitri accompanied her husband to the forest. Satyavan fell off a banyan tree while chopping wood and died. In no time, Yama came to claim Satyavan’s soul.

 

Savitri followed Yama like a shadow, beseeching him to restore her husband’s life. She followed Yama for 3 days and nights. Finally, he told her to ask for anything other than Satyavan’s life. She asked for 3 wishes. One was that her father-in-law would regain his kingdom. The second was that he would recover his sight. After both the wishes were granted, she continued to follow Yama and asked for her third boon – she wanted 100 children.

 

Yama was in a dilemma, as without Satyavan, Savitri wouldn’t be able to have children. Impressed by her intelligence and wifely devotion, Yama gave in and restored Satyavan’s life.

 

Since then, married Hindu women have observed Vat Savitri Vrat to honor Savitri and ensure a long life for their husbands.

 

Rituals of Vat Savitri Pooja

 

Women have a holy bath before dawn. The bathwater contains Amla (Indian gooseberry) and til (sesame seeds). Then they dress in clean clothes, apply sindoor (vermilion), wear bangles (all of these are associated with married women), and vow to undertake a Nirjala fast (not even water is consumed).

 

After the 3-day fast, the women drink water infused with the Banyan tree’s roots. They also tie a crimson or yellow sacred thread around the tree trunk after offering prayers to the tree.

 

Women offer food, flowers, and water to the tree while chanting prayers and going around the tree. In case a banyan tree is not available, they can perform the rituals by drawing a picture of the tree on a wooden base using sandalwood paste or turmeric.

 

On Vat Savitri Pooja day, the women make some unique dishes. All the family members get Prasad after the Pooja. Women also get the blessings of old people in their households. It is also customary to donate food, clothes, money, and other essentials to the poor.

 

How to Perform Vat Savitri Vrat

 

Place the idols of Savitri, Satyavan, and Yama riding a buffalo under a banyan tree and worship them. Offer water to the tree’s roots. Pooja samagri include water, Roli, Mouli, unwashed cotton, soaked gram, flowers, and incense. After you water the banyan tree, walk three times around the stem. Hold a piece of unprocessed thread as you do this. Listen to the story of Satyavan and Savitri after this. After removing the seeds and saving as much money as you can on the soaked gram, offer it to your mother-in-law and touch her feet.

 

Mantra

 

‘Avaidvayam Cha Saubhagyam Delhi Tvam Mam Sruvate | Putran Pautrashchva Cha Guhanaghyn Namostu Te ||’

 

Pooja Samagri for Vat Savitri Pooja

 

 A vase full of water

  Raw yarn

  Maroon thread

  Roli, sindoor, Akshat

  Sweets

  Flowers, incense sticks, dhoop

  Bamboo basket and a bamboo fan

  Soaked chickpeas

 

Benefits Of Vat Savitri Puja

 

Married women who take part in this vrat and Pooja should wear new and colorful clothes, jewelry, bangles, etc., and apply vermilion to their foreheads.

 

They can also keep one Banyan leaf in their hair. Goddess Savitri is offered 9 types of fruits. Rice, soaked pulses, mangoes, jackfruits, palm fruits, bananas, kendu, and other fruits are offered as Bhog.

 

After the fast ends, the women eat the Bhog and ask their husbands and the family’s elders to bless them.

 

Vat Savitri Pooja Vrat can bestow good fortune and a better life for married women. Their husbands may enjoy luck, longevity, and prosperity if they observe the fast. They can also have a blissful marital life.

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