SAKAT CHAUTH

INDIAN FESTIVALS ARE STARTING FROM TOMORROW

There are two legends of Sakat Chauth. The first legend of Sakat Chauth is related to Goddess Sakat.
The second legend is about Lord Ganesh and traditionally it is narrated during Sakat Chauth Puja.

Long ago there were two sister-in-laws. Their husbands were real brothers. Although both brothers belonged to the same family, the elder brother was quite rich and the younger brother was very poor. The younger brother used to sell wood which were used for cooking.

The wife of younger brother was ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh and used to observe fasting on each Sankashti Chaturthi. She used to work as a maid at the home of elder brother to feed her family.

On the day of Sakat Chauth she had nothing to cook. She worked hard at the home of her sister-in-laws to get some remuneration on the auspicious day of Sakat Chauth. The elder sister refused to pay her on the day of Puja and told that she would be rewarded for her hard work only after Puja on the next day. The tired lady came home with empty hands. This made Lord Ganesh angry on the elder sister.

In the evening when husband of younger sister came back from the work, she was not able to serve the meal. The husband was also frustrated as no one bought the fuel on the auspicious day of Sakat Chauth. The husband thrashed his wife for not cooking the food. The poor wife went to sleep with empty stomach.

At night Lord Ganesh came to her home. When Lord Ganesh asked to open the door she thought of dreaming it and told "All doors are open to come inside as I have nothing in the home to lock". After coming in Lord Ganesh asked for some food and she replied "I cooked Bathua () in the morning which is lying on the stove. You go and eat that". After eating Bathua, Lord Ganesh asked that he wants to relieve. She replied "All five places in home, including four corners and the entrance are available for you to relieve." After relieving Lord Ganesh asked that he wants something to wipe. The hungry and frustrated lady told "Use my forehead for that".

Next day when lady woke up she found that her forehead, all four corners in the home and the entrance were full of precious diamonds, jewelry and the gold. Then she realized that it was not in the dream but in the reality Lord Ganesh came to her home to bless her family. Later she went to sister-in-laws to get balance to weigh the massive wealth.

Her sister-in-laws stick some adhesive at the bottom on the balance. When the elder sister got the balance back she was able to know about massive wealth. On repeated requests from the elder sister, the younger sister revealed the story of Ganesh coming to her home.

After that the elder sister started working at the home of younger sister to repeat the same fortune for her family. On next year she played the whole story as it is to please lord Ganesh, including forcing her husband to thrash her on the day of Sakat Chauth. Everything went as expected except it was not massive wealth but feces and its stink all over her home. The feces were not getting removed even on repeated attempts. Pandits suggested her to share the wealth equally with the younger sister-in-laws to get rid of the curse of Lord Ganesh.

She did the same but even after that feces and its stink was not removed. Later it came to know that one necklace was not shared with the younger sister-in-laws. The curse of Lord Ganesh was cured only after that necklace was also shared with the younger sister-in-laws.

People pray to Lord Ganesh to get blessed like younger sister-in-laws after listening to this legend.

2015 Sakat Chauth

Krishna Paksha Chaturthi is dedicated to Lord Ganesha and devotees observe Sankashti Chaturthi fasting on each Krishna Paksha Chaturthi. However Krishna Paksha Chaturthi during month of Magh is also observed as Sakat Chauth and it is observed mainly in North Indian states. Sakat Chauth is dedicated to Goddess Sakat and women observe fasting on the very same day for well-being of their sons. The legend of Sakat Chauth describes compassionate nature of Goddess Sakat.

There is Sakat village in Rajasthan and it has temple dedicated to Goddess Sankat. The deity is famous as Sankat Chauth Mata. This temple is about 60 K.M. from Alwar and 150 K.M. from Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan. One can visit Sakat Mata Temple to get more information on Sakat Goddess.

On Sakat Chauth Lord Ganesha is also worshipped. Worshipping Lord Ganesha on this day brings happiness and prosperity.

Sakat Chauth is also known as Sankat Chauth, Til-Kuta Chauth, Vakra-Tundi Chaturthi and Maghi Chauth.

thanks chotima for this nice informative post we can learn a lot from ur posts

TFS