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 Yama (), also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharm ...

). 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 India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

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 Vat Purnima (=, also called ''Vat Savitri'' Vrat) is a Hindu celebration observed by married women in North India and in the Western Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat. On this Purnima (day), Purnima (full moon) during the three days of th ...

, 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 Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

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 ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. 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.

, 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 A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...

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