The
Story Of Queen Veeravati Once upon
a time, there lived a beautiful girl by the name of Veeravati. She was the only
sister of her seven loving brothers, who married a king. On the occasion of her
first Karva Chauth , she went to her parents' house. After sunrise, she observed
a strict fast but she could not stand the rigors of fasting and was desperatly
waiting for the moon to rise. The brothers were very disturbed watching the distress
of their sister and decided to end her fast by deceiving her- so they reflected
a mirror through Pipal tree leaves. Veeravati mistook it to be the moon and so
she broke her fast and took food. However, the moment the queen ate her dinner,
she received the news that her husband was seriously ill.
Soon
after she rushed to her husband's palace and on the way, she met Lord Shiva and
his consort, Goddess Parvati. Parvati informed her that the king had died because
the queen had broken her fast by watching a false moon. However, when the queen
asked her for forgiveness, the goddess granted her the boon that the king would
be revived. But to achieve this, she would have to undertake the Karva Chauth
fast under strict rituals, then only her husband would regain life. She abided
and thus, by strictly following all the rituals of Karva chauth, queen Veeravati
relivened her husband.
The
Legend Of Mahabharata The belief in this fast and its associated rituals
goes back to the pre-Mahabharata times. Draupadi, too, is said to have observed
this fast. Once Arjun went to the Nilgiris for penance and the rest of the Pandavas
faced many problems in his absence. Draupadi, out of desperation, remembered Lord
Krishna and asked for help. Lord Krishna reminded her that on an earlier occasion,
when Goddess Parvati had sought Lord Shivas guidance under similar circumstances,
she had been advised to observe the fast of Karva Chauth. Draupadi followed the
instructions and observed the fast with all its rituals. Consequently, the Pandavas
were able to overcome their problems. On this day, fasting women listen to Karva
Chauth legends with rapt attention.
The
Legend Of Karva According to another legend, a woman named Karva was deeply
devoted to her husband. One day while bathing, he was caught by a crocodile. Karva
came running and bound the crocodile with a cotton yarn. She then went to Yama,
the Lord of the death, and requested him to send the offending crocodile to hell.
When Yama refused, she threatened to curse him. Afraid of the power of a devoted
wife, Yama readily accepted and sent the crocodile to Yamalok or hell, and blessed
Karva's husband with long life.