Swasthani: A Month-Long Festival
What do you know about the Goddess Shree Swasthani?
Maybe that she can grant any wishes that you wish for, or maybe that she is the most beautiful one of them all.
Swasthani is one of the festivals that is named after the goddess swasthani who is known for granting wishes that are made with pure intentions. It is a month-long festival that is followed by fasting for 31 days in almost every Hindu family which is also called apsan chonegu in the Newari language and brata in Nepali. It is a festival that all Nepali people have their beliefs set in. On this holy month, people gather with their family every night to recite the Hindu tale called swasthani brata Katha till the 31st of a month.
Why is goddess Swasthani worshipped?
In Hindu mythology,
The goddess Parvati made a vow to fast in the name of Shree Swasthani Devi so that she can receive lord shiva as her husband. After a month of fasting, she was able to get Mahadev as her husband. People believe that the story of this holy fast that united Parvati and lord shiva can get you a good husband or wife.
There is the story of Natraj, son of Goma Brahmani when he became the king of the kingdom of labanya after she did fast in the name of swasthani according to the rites taught by the saptarishi.
When Chandravati rejected the Shree swasthani parmeshwari due to her arrogance and ego she had to suffer the consequence of being unconscious for years by the side of the Shali Nadi river. There is a belief that if you pay homage to Madhav Narayan after bathing in Shali Nadi then all your sins will be destroyed and one will attain virtue.
Swasthani is known for being generous to her devotees. She will fulfill all your wishes as long as you wish it with kindness, sincerity, and a pure heart. People worship the goddess to attain the happiness, peace, prosperity, fame, goodwill of the family, and good life partners.
How is the month of Swasthani celebrated?
This festival usually falls in winter, beginning from the full month of Poush till the next full moon. Millions of devotees visit different Hindu shrines like Pashupatinath temple, Shali Nadi temple in sankhu, Bhaktapur, and many others to observe this festival within this month. Nepali people fast for a whole month with great devotion.
During the fast, they take a bath cut the nails of both hand and leg, put on clean clothes, and clean the house every day for a whole month. The person who is fasting can only eat fruits once a day and sleep on a clean bed. After starting the fast one should worship shiva Parvati every day at noon along with goddess swasthani.
In Nepal, there is a tradition of listening to the story of Swasthani brata Katha every night with the family. Aarti is performed while listening to the story. It is a Hindu tale that was derived from Skanda Purana. This book has 31 chapters about the god and goddess which are recited every day for a month.
After performing these rituals daily for a month, It is believed that at the end of the month everything you offer to the goddess should be in 108 pieces. These offerings include pan, Janai, akchatya, oil lamps, barley, sesame, flowers, fruits, and many others. Puja is performed with all the offerings to conclude the fasting. After the offering is made to the goddess swasthani one should take out the 8 pieces of every item taken out as prasad to give it to the family members.
After concluding the brata of Swasthani you can consume the remaining fruits and other items during the night and stay awake the whole night. After all these rituals are completed it is believed that the goddess will eliminate all the sorrows and fulfills all desires plus wishes of the devotee and their family.
Conclusion
Shree Swasthani is a Hindu goddess who is worshipped in almost every Nepali family every year for 30 days with all the dedicated rituals by her devotees to get her blessings. There are lots of tales about the goddess Shree swasthani where she is known for being generous to her devotees. She is the deity of good fortune, welfare, power, and happy life. A long as you are sincere and have a pure heart you can get the blessings of the Shree swasthani. Hope this blog was helpful to you. And your swasthani brata goes nicely. Have a good day!
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- 10 interesting facts about Swasthani Brata Katha
