Hartalika Teej is one of the three famous Teej festivals which are celebrated among Hindus ladies with great joy during the monsoon. The other two popular Teej(s) are- Hariyali Teej and Kajari Teej which fall before Hartalika Teej).
(Note: Akshay Tritiya or Akha Teej and Gangaur Tritiya are not one of the three Teej.)
Dedicated to Hindu God Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati (Gowri), Hartalika Teej is also known as “Gawri Habba” in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The Teej festivity followers keep Swarna Gowri Vrat (Vratha or Fast) on the day of Gowri Habba.
It is followed as a significant festival to please Gowri Mata (Mother Parvati) and seek her blessings for a happy married life.
The Hartalika Teej celebration also includes the activities such as narrating the legendary stories of faith, singing, dancing, swinging, eating sweets, and enjoying Fundi.
Overview
(Gregorian calendar's date varies as per Hindu Lunar calendar)
Hartalika Teej Meaning
The word Hartalika is made of two words- ‘Harat’ and ‘Aalika’. Here, Harat means ‘abduction’ and Aalika means ‘female friends’.
Who Celebrates Hartalika Teej?
Teej celebrations can be seen among Hindu ladies throughout India. Those females who live abroad, they also follow the customs and rituals of Teej at their respective places. Nepali Hindu women observe the three-day-long festive events across the nations of the world.
Where is Hartalika Teej Celebrated?
Teej is a popular Hindu festival in India but still, there are some states and regions where it is revered with much excitement and zeal; such as North Indian states.
Other Teej-following Indian states are Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Mostly the religious events take place in temples or sacred places, but Teej is a festival that is observed in homes with family or society people.
Where most of the Indians celebrate only the day of Hartalika Teej, some cities or nations such as Nepal celebrate it as a three-days-event. On all these three days, different-different rituals and traditions are being followed.
Hartalika Teej Day, Date, and Time
The festival of Hartalika Teej is celebrated during Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya which is- third date of Shukla Paksha (Bright side) in Bhadrapada month of the Panchang Hindu calendar.
Mostly it falls after about one month of Hariyali Teej and one day before the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Hartalika Puja Time
People, who perform worship on Hartalika Teej, consider the morning time to be very good for offering the prayers. If the morning puja (worship) is skipped due to some reason, then the second-best time for the worship of Shiva and Parvati is considered to be the Pradosh time.
Hartalika Teej in Upcoming Years
God of the Hartalika Teej Festival: Which Hindu Gods are Worshipped on Hartalika Teej?
Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati are worshipped and revered on Hartalika Teej. The devotee women make the statues of Shiva and Parvati and worship them for seeking their blessings.
Hartalika Teej Rituals
Before performing the prayer rituals in the fine clothes, the devotees go through the ritual of taking the sacred bath in the holy river.
After worshipping the sand-made idols of Shiva and Parvati, the Hindu ladies narrate the story of the legend of Hartalika. Sharing such folklore is also considered a part of the complete Teej puja rituals.
The increasing trend of living in nuclear families and the advancement of digitalization have boosted the search for the online Teej Puja Vidhi. People find out some good links for knowing the Teej rituals and follow the instructions at home.
Gone are the days when people used to celebrate the festivals with elders or grandparents (Dadi or Nani) who used to be the Google for knowing all the customs and traditions. It used to be fun to celebrate with a big family.
Nowadays, people from the same or different societies gather at one home or place and perform the Teej worship together.
Hartalika Teej Katha: Story behind the Teej Festival
The custom of leaving home for your beloved one is not the new one; it has been an adventurous take from ancient times. Such a story about Parvati and her friend is spoken as the Hartalika Teej festival Katha.
The Mythological Folklore of Teej
It is believed that once Parvati left home with a friend of her and went to the forest so that the father of Parvati could not marry her with Lord Vishnu. Parvati’s friend helped her in this; she indeed accompanied her in the journey. So the festival of Hartalika Teej is named in remembrance of the friend of Parvati who is the Legend behind this festival.
Later Parvati worshipped hard to seek Lord Shiva. Seeing the devotion of Parvati, Shiva got pleased with Parvati and promised her to marry as per the requested wish of Parvati.
Thus Parvati met her spouse Shiva. It is believed that those who listen to this story and believe in it, they get happiness in the relationship with their partner.
When the believer ladies narrate the whole Teej Katha (story), they mention the name of Parvati as “Gauri” or “Shailputri”, the incarnation of Goddess Parvati. The name was kept Shailputri because Shail and Putri mean “rock” and “daughter” respectively. Her incarnation was in the form — the daughter of King Himalaya.
Significance of Hartalika Teej
The whole-day dancing, singing, and playing till sunset and then night-long worship make this festival significant from both religious and social point-of-view. The females work hard throughout the year and dedicate their life to their homes and families. They don't find ample opportunities or occasions when they can enjoy fully without any worries of chore jobs. The monsoon festival like Hartalika Teej brings humans together to enjoy their social lives with fun and celebrations. It does not just refresh the body, but also the soul.
Beliefs and Mythologies About Hartalika Teej
The believer women who observe the Hartalika Teej, they worship the statues of God Shiva and Goddess Parvati for marital blessings and bliss of progeny.
The commemoration of the union of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated as a festival for well being of the family as well. The devotees seek blessings for their spouses and children.
The Teej prayers include the requests of the long lives of family members and firm relationships.
Many offer worship on this day for the purification of the body and soul too.
Celebration of Hartalika Teej: How is Hartalika Teej Celebrated?
The three-day-long festive celebration of Hartalika Teej incorporates sumptuous feasts, rigid fasting, and many other traditional rituals with religious and spiritual significance.
Day One: The First Day of Hartalika Teej Events
The first day of the Teej festival celebration is called Dar Khane Din. Although Teej is known as a women-oriented fest, it is not so that Hindu men do not participate in the fest at all. They make all the arrangements of the day including the preparation of the feast and women do not cook.
Women just prepare themselves with heavy, fine attires of traditional colors such as red, maroon, or sharp pink. They embellish their beauty with full Solah Shringar donning the complete bridal look with 16 items as per Hindu tradition and culture. They sing, dance, and enjoy the feast with their friends, relatives, and neighbor ladies.
The folk songs of Teej are also not less than fun. They are also known as “Geet” which are sung in regional languages. Many songs also raise a family and social issues in a funny way. The ladies enjoy their freedom of expression this day and sing ironic songs. Such activities make Hindu festivals an opportunity to remove the every-day-dust by enjoying the festive activities. The jollity continues till the mid of the night. After midnight, ladies do not eat anything as the day of fasting starts from then.
Day Two: The Second of Hartalika Teej Fasting
The second day is observed as the Teej fasting day on which the devotee ladies keep fasts from food. Some drop both food and water for the entire day. Some keep fast without dropping the fruits and liquid. Many allow themselves to intake Segaar (Seghar or Saghar), food that is not made of grain and can be taken during the fast.
Such a fast is kept by both married and unmarried women; men do not keep fast on the Teej festival. Where married women abstain from food and water for seeking blessings for their husband and children, unmarried women seek the blessing of a good husband.
Females also visit the nearby Shiva temple, walking the way with singing and dancing. They circumambulate around the Shivlingam (Shiva Lingam) and offer prayers with water, milk, flowers, fruits, sweets, and coins.
The special Puja (worship) involves the act of lighting the oil lamp throughout the night.
As the temple of Pashupatinath is dedicated to Lord Shiva, it witnesses a great crowd of visitors.
Day Three: The Third Day of Teej
The third day of the Teej festival is known as Rishi Panchami. Women take red mud baths (the mud is collected from the roots of the Datiwan bush which is considered to be sacred), offer prayers to the Lords, and pay homage to the saints (sages) in the counting of seven.
Spiritually, all the acts are being correlated with the process of purification from the sins.
