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Home > Other Astrological Information > Events / Festivals > Teej
Hindu festivals are often colorful and rich in colors. Teej is no different. Teej is actually Hindu women fasting festival observed by Hindu women, particularly in parts of Northern India and Nepal. The festival is celebrated during the monsoon months of July / August every year. Women celebrate this festival for marital bliss, wellbeing of spouse and children and for purification of their own body and soul. The three-day festival combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting.
The first day of Teej is called the "Dar Khane Din". On this day, women, both married and unmarried, assemble at one place, in their finest attires and start dancing and singing devotional songs. The jollity often goes on till mid-night, after which the 24-hour fast starts.
The second day too is a fasting day. Some women spend the day without even a morsel of food or a drop of water while for others take liquid food and fruits. On this day, they gaily dress and visit a nearby Shiva Bhagavan temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath temple gets the highest number of devotees. At the Shiva temple, women circumambulate the Lingam, the phallic symbol of the lord, offering flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits etc.,made to Shiva and Parvati, seeking Their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night for it is bad omen if it dies away.
The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day's puja, women pay homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all sins. The recent years have witnessed alteration in the rituals, especially concerning the severity, but its essence remains the same.
Teej is celebrated in many parts of Haryana,Punjab,Delhi,Rajasthan and Biharall over the North India. They worship Goddess Parvati. A day before this festival is celebrated as Sinjara wherein girls/ladies put on Mehandi on their hands and eat ghewar/feeni and other sweets. On Teej, married women pray to Goddess Parvati for well being of their husbands. Idols of goddess Parvati are decorated and taken in a procession in the streets accompanied by singing, music, and dancing. Teej is also celebrated among the Hindu community in north India. In this area women are also given Bangles and bindis.
Teej falls on August 16, 2007