Jitiya is a three-day observance: a bath and one pure meal on nahay-khay, a strict fast through the day and night of Ashvin Krishna Ashtami with an evening puja to Jimutavahana, and parana the next morning. In short: eat simply the day before, start the fast before dawn, worship the kusha figure with the kite and the jackal in the evening, hear the katha, wear the jitiya thread, and break the fast after a morning bath.
The three days for this year, and the Ashtami's span, are on the Jitiya date page. They are not repeated here, because Mithila almanacs and those of the Bhojpuri region sometimes differ by a day, and the family's own panchang decides.
A word on health first
Jitiya is one of the longest fasts in the Hindu year, often kept without water from before dawn until the following morning, in the humid end of the monsoon. Mothers who are pregnant or nursing, who have diabetes, blood pressure or kidney trouble, who are recovering from illness, or who are older should not keep it nirjala. Water, coconut water, milk and fruit keep the vow just as well, and the tradition has always accepted this. A doctor's advice comes before any custom on this page.
Samagri: what to keep ready
- Kusha grass to make the small figure of Jimutavahana, or a ready-made image
- Clay or cow dung to shape a kite (cheel) and a jackal (siyarin); a little red and yellow colour to mark them
- A low chauki, or a spot in the courtyard where a small shallow pit can be dug and filled with water as a pond
- Roli, sindoor, haldi, akshat (unbroken rice), flowers and durva
- Ghee lamp, incense, a lota of water
- Seasonal fruit, cucumber, soaked gram, and sweets for the bhog
- The jitiya: a red-and-yellow thread, often with a small gold or silver pendant, one for each child or one for the mother
- For nahay-khay and parana: marua flour, noni saag, rice, dal, gourd vegetables, as your region cooks them
Nothing here needs to be costly. A thread from home and figures shaped by hand are what most mothers have always used.
The three days, step by step
- Nahay-khay (the Saptami day). Bathe early, clean the kitchen, and cook one sattvic meal. In Mithila this is marua roti and noni saag, with fish in many homes; elsewhere rice, dal and a gourd such as satputiya. Eat once, calmly, and drink plenty of water.
- Before dawn on Ashtami. In the Bhojpuri region many mothers eat a small meal called ogthan before first light, sometimes curd and chura or a sweet. Then the fast begins.
- Through the day. Rest as much as possible. Mothers keeping water or fruit should decide this in the morning, not halfway through the afternoon.
- Prepare the puja place. In the afternoon or evening, dig a small pit in the courtyard and fill it with water, or set up a chauki. Place the kusha Jimutavahana in the centre, and the kite and jackal figures beside him. Mark them with sindoor and haldi.
- Worship. Light the lamp. Offer water, roli, akshat, flowers, durva and fruit to Jimutavahana, and touch the kite and the jackal with sindoor as well. Pray in your own words for your children by name.
- The katha. Sit together and hear the Jitiya vrat katha, the story of Jimutavahana and Garuda followed by the kite and the jackal.
- The thread. After the katha, the jitiya thread is offered to Jimutavahana and then worn round the neck. Some mothers wear one for each child.
- The night. The fast continues through the night. In many villages the women stay up together for part of it, singing.
- Parana, the next morning. Bathe, offer water and a short prayer, and break the fast. Many families use the same foods as nahay-khay; some set aside a little first for the kite and the jackal, or for birds and animals nearby.
Checking the time
Two things matter: which day the Ashtami holds at sunrise, and when it ends, because parana is done after it. Both come from the panchang, and you can check the tithi for your city on the panchang page. Families who like to begin the evening puja in a favourable period can look at the choghadiya. If your local Maithili or Bhojpuri almanac gives a different day, follow the one your family follows.
Customs families keep
These are customs, not conditions. Your household's own way comes first.
- The jitiya pendant is often handed down from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, and a new one is added when a child is born.
- Many homes cook nahay-khay without onion and garlic, and wash the kitchen first.
- Some mothers keep a small mustard-oil lamp, rather than ghee, burning through the night.
- In many families the figures of the kite and jackal are put in the water or under a tree after parana.
- Mothers now keep Jitiya for daughters and sons alike, and some fathers fast with them.
Regional ways
- Mithila (north Bihar and the Terai of Nepal): marua roti, noni saag and fish on nahay-khay, and an almanac of its own that can move the day.
- Bhojpuri region (west Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh): ogthan before dawn, the pond in the courtyard, and the kusha figure floated or set beside it.
- Jharkhand: the vow is kept widely in the towns, often with women gathering at a temple or a pond.
- The Tharu community of the Nepal Terai keeps a version of the festival with its own songs and dances.
After the puja
Share the fruit and sweets of the bhog with the family, and rest. The mothers' fast that follows in the north is Ahoi Ashtami, and a few weeks on, the same courtyards prepare for Chhath.