Hartalika Teej is kept on Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya with a fast, often nirjala, from sunrise to the next morning, an evening puja to clay or sand images of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesh under a flower canopy, and a night of bhajans. In short: bathe and make the sankalp, shape the images, decorate the phulera, worship at pradosh and hear the katha, keep the jagran through the night, and break the fast with parana after sunrise.
The day of the Tritiya, and the rule used when the tithi is short, are on the Hartalika Teej date page. The two other Teej days of the season are different festivals: Hariyali Teej in Shravan and Kajari Teej on the dark-half Tritiya of Bhadrapada.
Puja samagri
- Clean sand from a riverbank, or clay, to shape Shiva (as a linga), Parvati and Ganesh; many families now use small ready-made clay figures
- A low stool or a banana-leaf base, and a red or yellow cloth
- Banana stems or leaves, mango leaves and plenty of flowers for the phulera, the canopy over the images; in some homes a frame of bamboo sticks holds it up
- Bel leaves, dhatura, shami leaves, dub grass, akash bel where it grows
- For Parvati: the suhag items, including sindoor, bangles, bindi, mehendi, kajal, a comb and a red chunri or sari
- Roli, haldi, sandal paste, akshat, mauli, janeu for Shiva in some homes
- Ghee lamp that can stay lit through the night, extra ghee, wicks, incense, camphor
- Fruits of the season, sweets, and in many homes thekua, gujhiya or puris as naivedya
- A kalash with water and a coconut, if your family sets one up
- Gifts for the mother-in-law or an elder woman: clothes, suhag items and sweets
- A clean vessel or nearby water for immersing the images next morning
Step by step
- The night before. Many women eat a light meal the evening before, and some wake before dawn for a little food and water. Drink well; the fast begins at sunrise.
- Bath and sankalp. Bathe in the morning, in some homes with a paste of herbs or a dip in a river. Wear new or festive clothes, often green or red. Sit facing east, take water in the right hand and say in your own words that you are keeping the Hartalika vrat as Parvati kept it. Let the water fall.
- The day. The day is spent quietly: mehendi, getting the samagri ready, meeting other women. Those keeping the fast with water or fruit decide this at the start.
- Shape the images. In the afternoon, shape a small linga for Shiva, a figure of Parvati and a small Ganesh from the sand or clay. Place them on the cloth-covered stool or leaf.
- Build the phulera. Tie banana leaves and stems around the images as a little pavilion and cover it with flowers and garlands. This is often the most loving part of the day, and women help each other.
- The evening puja, at pradosh. Bathe again or wash and dress fully. Light the lamp. Worship Ganesh first. Offer water, sandal paste, bel leaves, dhatura and white flowers to Shiva. Dress Parvati in the chunri and offer her the suhag items. Offer fruit and sweets to all three.
- Hear the katha. Holding a little akshat, hear the Hartalika Teej vrat katha of Parvati's friends, the forest and the sand linga. Offer the grains at the end.
- Aarti and gifts. Do the aarti, touch the elders' feet and give the gifts to the mother-in-law or an older woman.
- Jagran. Many women stay awake through the night, singing bhajans and Teej songs, keeping the lamp alight. In many homes a short puja is repeated in each watch of the night.
- Morning puja and parana. After sunrise, bathe, do a short final puja, offer the images curd or a sweet, and immerse them in a river, pond or a vessel of water. Then break the fast, starting with prasad and water.
Checking the time
Three windows matter. The evening puja is traditionally done at pradosh, the period just after sunset, and families who like an auspicious start also look at the choghadiya for their city. The jagran runs through the night. The fast is broken with parana the next morning after sunrise, once the morning puja is over. Whether the Tritiya holds at sunrise on the day, and the rule used when it does not, are on the date page; the tithi and nakshatra for any day are in the panchang.
Customs families keep
These are customs, not conditions; your family's way comes first.
- Once begun, many women keep Hartalika every year; others keep it for a set number of years and close with an udyapan.
- Unmarried girls often keep a lighter fast, and some families have them sit in the puja without fasting.
- In many homes the women do not sleep on this night, and sleepy ones are teased awake by the others.
- Women who are pregnant, unwell, older or on medicine take water, milk or fruit, and a doctor's advice comes first.
- The sand or clay images are made fresh for the day and immersed the next morning; they are not kept.
- The first Hartalika after marriage is often kept at the mother's home, with gifts sent from there.
Regional ways
- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand: Teej is one of the year's biggest days for women; the phulera is made with care, the jagran is a gathering of the whole lane, and Bihar and Jharkhand homes make thekua and pirukiya.
- Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan: the clay images and night jagran are common, with Teej songs sung in the local dialects.
- Gujarat: the same Tritiya is known in some communities as Kevda Trij, when women worship Shiva with the fragrant kevda flower and keep the fast.
- Maharashtra: the day is Hartalika, the worship of Parvati with her friend, the evening before Ganesh is welcomed. Women fast, worship the paired figures with green leaves of many kinds and keep the night lightly.
- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: the day is Gauri Habba, also called the Swarna Gauri vrat; Gauri is welcomed as a daughter come home, and women receive bagina, the gift of a winnowing tray of auspicious items.
- Nepal: Teej is a festival of women in red, dancing and singing at Shiva temples; the fast is broken the next day.
After the puja
Share the prasad. Water used for the immersion can go to a plant. The Shravan Tuesday vrat of Gauri is the Mangla Gauri katha, and Jyeshtha's fast of the banyan is the Vat Savitri katha.