Karwa Chauth 2023: Karva Chauth date, history, significance, vrat katha, shubh muhurat, celebrations and more

Karwa Chauth 2023: Read about the date, history, significance, vrat katha, shubh muhurat, celebrations and all you need to know.

The auspicious festival of Karwa Chauth is right around the corner, and married Hindu women are gearing up to celebrate it with fervour. Popularly marked across Northern parts of India, it is also known as Karaka Chaturthi or Karva Chauth. Married women observe an arduous nirjala vrat during this festival from dawn to moonrise for their husband's long lives and prosperity. Women only eat food or drink water after offering Arghya to the Moon with an earthen pot known as Karva. While traditionally the fast is kept by married and soon-to-be-married women, in recent times, husbands and unmarried couples have also started observing the fasts for their partners. If you are marking the festival of Karwa Chauth this year, you should know about the date, history, significance, muhurat, vrat katha and celebrations of this festival.

Karwa Chauth 2023 Date: Karva Chauth Shubh Muhurat

Karwa Chauth is celebrated on Chaturthi Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the Hindu calendar month of Kartik. This year, it falls on November 1, Sunday. According to Drik Panchang, the Karwa Chauth puja muhurat is from 5:36 pm to 6:54 pm. The vrat time is from 6:33 am to 6:15 pm, and the moonrise time is at 8:15 pm. Meanwhile, the Chaturthi tithi will begin on October 31 at 9:30 pm and end on November 1 at 9:19 pm.

Karwa Chauth 2023 History, Vrat Katha and Significance

According to Hindu mythology, a queen named Veeravati visited her brothers during Karwa Chauth. As time went by, Veeravati started feeling a little faint and waited eagerly to break her fast by sighting the Moon. Seeing her plight, Veeravati's brothers tricked her into breaking the vrat by showing her an object that resembled the Moon. She broke the fast after sighting the object resembling the Moon. Unfortunately, the moment she did, the news of her husband's death arrived. After learning about the trick, Veeravati pledged to keep the fast every month with full devotion and prayed to the Gods. Finally, her patience paid off, and by the end, her husband came back.

The origin of the festival can be traced back to Karva Devi, whose husband got attacked by a crocodile, and Savitri, who had asked the god of death, Lord Yama, to return their husband's soul. Another legend says that when Arjun went to the Nilgiris to meditate, Draupadi got worried and asked for Lord Krishna's help to ensure his safety. Krishna advised her to fast for Arjun, just like Goddess Parvati did for her husband, Lord Shiva.

Karwa Chauth is celebrated with the belief that it emulates Goddess Parvati, who observed a fast to obtain Lord Shiva as her husband. Married women keep the vrat to ensure the longevity of their husbands and an enduring marriage. The fast also brings good luck and prosperity to the family. Apart from Goddess Parvati, women also pray to Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Lord Kartikeya and Karwa Mata.

Karwa Chauth 2023 Celebrations

Karwa Chauth is celebrated all across the country, especially in the northern parts of India, including Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan. While Karwa means earthen pots, Chauth means the fourth day. During this festival, married women buy new earthen pots to decorate with attractive designs and put sweets and bangles inside. They also do solah sringar (like sindoor, bangles, bindi etc) to dress up like a newly married bride, wear brand new traditional clothes in red colour, and apply mehendi/henna on their hands.

On this day, women wake up early, take a bath, have Sargi before sunrise, and observe a fast for the entire day. They break their fast only after looking at the Moon and offering 'arghya' to it using an earthen pot and having a bite of food and a taste of water from their spouses' hands.