Kajari Teej or Boorhi Teej is a festival celebrated in North India to welcome the monsoon seasons on the third day or Tritiya (Krishna Paksha) of the lunar month Bhadrapada and is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. This year, it is being observed today, i.e. on August 18.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Usually, on this day, married women keep a fast praying for a long and happy life of their husbands, just like the married life of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is held to their beliefs that if there is any obstacle in a girl's marriage, keeping this fast will help the couple overcome it.

Here are the details for Kajri Teej 2019:

The Tritiya Tithi begins on August 17 at 10:48 PM and ends on August 19 at 1:13 AM.

On this day, women usually worship a clay idol of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati together, in a bid for a prosperous life. A number of holy items such as Bel Patra (leaves of the Bel / Bilva tree), milk, Ganga Jal, bhang, etc are used with an aarti dedicated to the divine couple.

The cow is especially held to high regards on this day, as the women begin their fast by feeding a cow with bread and jaggery.

The women are supposed to begin their fast after the moon appears in the sky, much akin to the fast kept on the occasion of Karwa Chauth. They keep the fast throughout the day and break it in the evening with a serving of auspicious food dishes like barley, wheat gram, or, as is traditionally done, sattu.

It is also a common practice on this day to sing folk songs, which are known as kajris, from which the name of the festival stems. This particular type of folk song is sung in parts of eastern UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.