Hariyali Teej 1895

The traditional katha

This is the katha traditionally told by those who keep this vrata; no Purana source was found for it.

Teej means the third day, the Tritiya, and Hariyali means greenery, for the festival comes in the green rains of Shravana.

Long ago, Goddess Parvati set her heart on one thing alone: to have Lord Shiva as her husband. It was not an easy wish. The katha says that she was born again and again, and in life after life she strove to win Shiva, yet her wish was not fulfilled. Families tell it as a hundred and seven births, and say that the hundred and eighth birth was the one in which she was born as Parvati, the daughter of Himavan, the king of the mountains.

In that life Parvati did not wait. She went away into the forest and began a long and very hard penance. She fasted. She stood firm through the storms of the rainy season. For a time she lived only on dry leaves, and then she gave up even those and lived on air alone. Year after year her mind did not turn from Shiva.

At last Lord Shiva was moved by her firm resolve and her pure devotion. He came to her and accepted her as his wife. The katha says that this happened on the Tritiya of the bright half of Shravana, and so that day became sacred to the divine couple.

Because her long devotion bore fruit on this day, Parvati is worshipped on Hariyali Teej as Teej Mata, the mother who grants a happy married life. The katha is traditionally told as Shiva's own words to Parvati, reminding her of all that she had done to win him. It is said that Shiva promised that a woman who keeps this vrata with faith will receive the same grace that brought him and Parvati together, and so married women keep it for a happy and lasting marriage, and young women pray for a good husband.