Jivitputrika (Jitiya)
The Krishna paksha Ashtami of Ashwin, kept by mothers for the long life and wellbeing of their children. It is counted among the hardest of vrats — a full nirjala, without even water, running through the day and into the night. Kept above all in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern UP and the Mithila region of Nepal, it unfolds over three days: nahay-khay before, the nirjala Ashtami itself, and paran the morning after. At its heart is Jimutavahana, the prince who offered his own body to save another mother's son.
vidhi
On Saptami, the day before, keep nahay-khay: bathe — in a river or pond where possible — and eat one pure satvik meal; in most homes this is madua roti with noni saag.,Before dawn on Ashtami take the otghan — the last meal, often dahi-chura, finished while it is still dark; the nirjala begins the moment it ends.,Take the sankalp for the long life of your children, naming each one, and keep the day without food or water.,In the late afternoon or at pradosh, set up the puja: a figure of Jimutavahana made of kusha grass, placed in a vessel of water or on cleaned ground, with figures of the chil (kite) and siyarin (jackal) shaped from cow dung or clay beside it.,Offer akshat, roli, chandan, flowers, dhoop and a ghee lamp to Jimutavahana, and offer mustard oil and khali (oil-cake) to the chil and siyarin.,Put on the jitiya — the red-and-yellow thread with a knot or locket for each child — and keep it on through the vrat.,Listen to the katha of Jimutavahana and of the chil and siyarin with the other women, and do the aarti.,Do the paran on Navami morning after Ashtami has ended, with whatever your family tradition prescribes — commonly madua roti, noni saag or jhor-bhaat.katha
Jimutavahana was a Vidyadhara prince who cared nothing for the throne; he gave his kingdom away and went to the forest to serve his aged father. There he learnt of a terrible arrangement: to spare the naga clans, one serpent was sent every day to Garuda to be devoured, and that day the lot had fallen on a boy named Shankhachuda. His mother was weeping in a way Jimutavahana could not walk past. He wrapped himself in the red cloth meant for the victim, lay down on the rock of sacrifice, and let Garuda carry him away. Garuda tore at him and found no cry, no struggle — only patience — and stopped, shaken. When the truth came out, Garuda vowed never to take another naga, and revived with amrit those he had eaten. A mother's grief had been answered by a stranger's body. Mothers keep this vrat in his name, asking that their own children be guarded as Shankhachuda was. Beside him the chil and siyarin are worshipped — the kite who once kept this vrat faithfully and the jackal who broke it in secret — remembered together so that the keeping is done whole.samagri
A figure of Jimutavahana made of kusha grass, or his picture,Cow dung or clay for the figures of the chil and siyarin,The jitiya thread — red and yellow, with a knot or locket for each child,Akshat, roli, chandan and fresh flowers,Ghee lamp with a cotton wick, dhoop and camphor,Mustard oil and khali (oil-cake) for the chil and siyarin,Dahi and chura for the otghan; madua flour and noni saag for nahay-khay and paran, as tradition prescribes,A small vessel or kalash of water for the sthapana
Today's panchang · Aaj ka rashifal