Hartalika Teej 2022: Date, history, significance and celebration of the festival
Hartalika Teej 2022: Hartalika Teej will be celebrated on August 30 this year. Here's all you want to know about the history, significance and celebration of the festival.
Hartalika Teej 2022: Hartalika Teej, a women's festival primarily, falls during Shukla Paksha Tritiya of Bhadrapada month and is celebrated with much enthusiasm and fervour across the country. The festival, like other two Teejs (Hariyali Teej and Kajari Teej) that come prior to this one, is celebrated in the states of Eastern UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. On this day idols of Lord Shiva, Maa Parvati and Lord Ganesha are prepared with sand or clay and worshipped. A 'nirjala' fast is also observed by both married and unmarried women to pray for the long lives of their husbands and get a spouse of their choice respectively. (Also read: Hartalika Teej 2022 fasting rules: Dos and don'ts to remember during the fast)
DATE OF HARTALIKA TEEJ
Hartalika Teej will be celebrated on August 30 this year. The pratahkala Hartalika puja muhurat would be from 5:58 am to 8:29 am. Tritiya tithi begins at 3:20 pm on Aug 29, 2022 and ends at 3:33 pm on August 30, 2022.
HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF HARTALIKA TEEJ
Hartalika is made of two words - 'harát' means abduction and 'alika' means female friend. The legend goes that Goddess Parvati performed severe penance at the bank of river Ganga in order to have Lord Shiva as her husband. However, Parvati's father Himalaya seeing her in this condition decided to marry her off to Lord Vishnu. When Goddess Parvati shared her misery with her female friend, she decided to help her and abducted her. She took her to a deep forest where Maa Parvati continued her sadhana and eventually Lord Shiva took notice of the goddess' devotion and agreed to marry her. From that time onwards, Hartalika Teej is observed by women to get a husband of their choice.
CELEBRATIONS OF HARTALIKA TEEJ
A nirjala vrat is observed by married and unmarried women for around 24 hours during which they go without food and water. Lord Shiva, Maa Parvati and Lord Ganesha are worshipped on this day. A lavish festive spread is cooked including both sweet and savoury dishes like bedmi poori, raseele aloo, dal baati, besan kadhi, malpua, ghevar, kheer, thekua and gujia among others. It is the day when married women are pampered by their folks in their mayke and sasural, and are gifted clothes, jewellery, cosmetics and other things. Women apply beautiful mehendi designs on their hands and wear best of traditional clothes, especially in the hues of green and red to celebrate the festival. In many parts of the country, women stay awake for the entire night of their fast and sing folk songs along with a group of women. Teej Puja is usually done in a group and the vrat is concluded on the next day morning.
