Savitri Vrata (also Savitri Brata) or Savitri Amavasya is a

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

day, commemorating the pious act of Savitri who rescued her husband, Satyavan, from the god of death ( Yama). It occurs on the new moon day in month of

Jyeshtha Jyeshtha may refer to: * Jyeshtha (month), month of the Hindu calendar * Jyestha (goddess), Hindu goddess of adversity and misfortune * Jyeshtha (nakshatra), the 18th nakshatra (lunar mansion) in Hindu astronomy and Vedic astrology See also * Jye� ...

. Married Hindu women observe a fast to promote a long, healthy life for their husbands. It is celebrated in the Indian states of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The same festival is observed on Vat Purnima, the full moon of Jyestha in other regions including

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, Goa,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Legend behind the festival

The story of Savitri is noted in the Hindu epic '' Mahabharata''. The

vrata Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as Fasting#Hinduism, fasting and pilgrimage (Tirtha (Hinduism), Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Hinduism and Jainism. It is typically ...

was named after Savitri, the beautiful daughter of King Ashvapati. She selected Satyavan as her life partner, a prince in exile who lived in the forest with his blind father Dyumatsena. Before marrying him, she was foretold that Satyavan would only live for a year - although, this did not stop her decision. After a year, Satyavan, accompanied by Savitri, went to the forest to chop wood, but fell unconscious and died. Yama, the god of death, appeared to take away Satyavan's soul. Seeing this, Savitri followed them, believing it to be her duty as a wife. Yama, moved by the devotion of Savitri, returned the life of her husband. Soon Satyavan regained his lost kingdom, and his father, Dyumatsena, regained his sight. Savitri's virtue of faithfulness and devotion towards her husband has made her an exemplary figure for Hindu women.

Customs and rituals

The rituals related to Savitri Vrata are collectively compiled under ''Vat''-''Savitri puja'' which is mainly derived from the Sanskrit text the ''

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' ( IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukhyapurāṇa'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parv ...

''. Rituals are also noted in later literary works (such as the ''Chaturvarga Chintmani'' and ''Vratarka)'' inspired by and extracted from the ''Skanda Purana''. During Savitri Vrata, reverence is offered to Savitri and a banyan tree - by watering and wounding a thread around it. Aside from its medicinal qualities and national symbolism, the banyan tree is offered homage because it is believed that Savitri attained spiritual prowess through its shade during her encounter with Yama. In Odisha, women offer worship to a grinding stone or ''sila pua'' which is considered to be a symbolic representation of Savitri.

References

External links

Festivals of Orissa
{{Savitri and Satyavan Hindu festivals May observances June observances Culture of Mithila Culture of Odisha Religious festivals in India Hindu festivals in Nepal Vrata Savitri and Satyavan