Haritalika Teej, an important festival celebrated by Nepali Hindu women, is being celebrated on Thursday by worshiping Devadhideva Mahadev. According to Hindu scriptures, this festival is celebrated every year on the third day of Bhadrashukla, especially to please Lord Shiva by fasting and worshiping Parvati.
It is mentioned in Shiva Purana that Parvati (Adi Shakti), the daughter of the Himalayan mountain, fasted from time immemorial to get Devadhideva Mahadev as her husband. After her father arranged her marriage to Lord Vishnu, Parvati did penance to Shivaji to get her favorite groom. However, when her wish was not fulfilled, she set up a Shivalinga and fasted and worshiped. It is mentioned in the scriptures that her fast was finally completed on this day and Shiva Parvati got married due to the effect of the fast. Teej festival is celebrated on the same basis.
On this day, it is believed that women should fast even if they are fasting, eating, eating fruits, eating one meal, or eating in a very weak condition according to the condition of their body. On the occasion of Teej, they fast with the wish of 'Let the unmarried get a worthy bridegroom, let the married get love from her husband like Parvati, let her enjoy a happy marriage for the rest of her life, and let the widow get a worthy husband in the next life and not have to live a widowed life'.
On the day before the fast, on the day of Bhadra Shukla Dwitiya, it is customary to eat Dar before 11 pm. On this day, the mother or sister calls the daughter to the sisters or the mother calls the daughter to the nieces and feeds the dar. Dar is a nutritious or sattvic (lentils, rice, vegetables, fruits, milk, yogurt, ghee, etc.) diet. It is customary to eat nutritious food to gain the strength to fast the next day.
On this occasion, women go to their relatives and meet their friends when they feel like it, dance, sing hymns and gather, and share their sorrows, pains, and griefs with each other throughout the year. In this sense, Teej is known as a women-friendly festival. Lately, women of non-Hindu or other religions and castes have also started celebrating Teej with joy.
On this day, people go to the Shivalaya to pay homage to Shivaji, chant hymns, dance and have fun. Every year, a large crowd of devotees gathers at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu and other Shivalayas across the country.
Hartalika Teej Fasting rules:
"There are three types of fasting: fasting, eating, and eating fruit. It is better to fast for those who can't fast and for those who can't eat," he said. It is better to fast by considering the scriptural phrase "Sarvatah Atmanam Gopayet", which means to protect the soul from all sides and fast only.
He also informed that those who are not in good health can fast by eating fruits like wheat bread, cornbread, apples, oranges, and bananas. Dr. Devmani Bhattarai, head of the theology department at Valmiki Vidyapeeth, said that false propaganda was being spread that Teej would fast and only wish her husband long life.
"There is a classical law that unmarried girls and boys should fast for the sake of good fortune, for having children, for the sake of getting a good bride and groom," he said. Since women represent the family as guardians of the fast, men also fast when they are unable to do so or during menstruation. In this sense, the theologians say that the discriminatory fasting tradition raised by some feminists is not as strong as it is now.
