Fasting For Your Beloved

For long, married women have been idolising and worshipping Parvati – the Goddess of love,marriage and devotion. The Hindu dharma believes that a woman is imperative in binding a family as she manifests the power of growth, nourishment and prosperity. She is the only one endowed with the ability to strengthen her bond and devotion towards her partner, with the way of fasting. Sharpen your wits as Wedding Affair enlightens you on the rituals of wifely fasting.

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visaya vinivartante niraharasya dehinah rasa-varjam raso 'pyasya param drstva nivartate Bhagvad Gita 2:59

‘For the one who is fasting the desires of the senses become feeble. But when one has seen the highest, even the desires disappear, leaving behind pure devotion.’

Fasting or Vrat in Sanskrit means ‘Upavaasa’. It is an amalgamation of two words – ‘upa’ meaning near and ‘vaasa’ meaning to stay. Spiritually, ‘upavaasa’ describes the process of bonding with the almighty, while consuming only what is needed. Once attained, such a relationship is unwavering. Even the ‘Bhagwad Gita’ does not entail vrat as a dry suppression of desires. Instead, it indicates a beautiful path towards God, while sublimating the worldly needs.

In a similar context, a married woman observes certain fasts to express her gratification towards God for a blissful life and devotion towards her husband. Our holy books have always steered our way of living. To neglect the scientific aspect of fasting would undermine the wisdom of the ancient. Fasting purifies our body, mind and soul. While the consumption of fruits and liquids help purify our body by giving rest to the digestive organs, the wandering mind and soul find peace by entering the spiritual realm. The modern world observes detoxification as a form of fasting.

Women over the years have been observing fasts with the belief of achieving the well–being of their husbands. Diverse Indian regions have several names and customs associated with these ‘wifely’ fasts. In olden times, such fasts constituted to be the most–anticipated occasions to embrace a woman’s charm with her solah sringar. Bedecked, women would frolick their way to the nearest melas or decorated