Jaya Parvati Vrat 1932

The traditional katha

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

Long ago there lived a Brahmin and his wife who were devoted to Lord Shiva. In one well-known telling, the Brahmin's name was Vaman, his wife's name was Satya, and they lived in the town of Kaundinya. Their home lacked nothing, yet they were sad, because they had no children.

One day the sage Narada came to their house. The couple served him with care and told him of their sorrow. Narada told them that in the forest outside the town, under a bilva tree, Lord Shiva was present in the form of a linga together with Mother Parvati. No one knew of it and no one worshipped there. If they worshipped Shiva and Parvati at that place, he said, their wish would be fulfilled.

The Brahmin and his wife went into the forest and found the linga. They worshipped it with devotion, day after day, and they kept on for five years.

One day the Brahmin went into the forest to gather flowers for the worship. While he was picking them, a snake bit him, and he fell to the ground.

His wife waited a long time, and he did not come back. Worried, she went looking for him and found her husband lying lifeless in the forest. She wept and prayed for help.

Her prayer was heard. Her husband was brought back to life.

The grateful couple worshipped Mother Parvati. Pleased with their devotion, the goddess told them to ask for a boon, and they asked for a child. Parvati told them to keep the Jaya Parvati Vrata. They kept it with faith, and in time a son was born to them.

This is the story of the Jaya Parvati Vrata, kept in memory of a devoted wife whose prayer brought her husband back to life.