Gauri Vrat

Gauri Vrat is a Gujarati vrata observed mainly by girls and young women during the Ashadha bright fortnight, with Goddess Gauri—Parvati—as the focus of worship. It belongs to the same broad devotional world as Jaya Parvati Vrat and draws on the ideal of Parvati’s steadfast tapas to attain Shiva as her husband. Rather than being centred on one universally fixed katha, the observance teaches patience, purity, prayer and the wish for a good, harmonious future household. Traditionally devotees keep a simple diet with restrictions that vary by family, worship Gauri for several days, offer flowers and perform aarti. Young girls often participate together, making it an important social as well as devotional custom in Gujarat. The concluding worship expresses gratitude to the Goddess and the hope that her qualities of determination, auspiciousness and marital harmony will guide the devotee’s life.

Gauri Vrat is valued for devotion, family tradition and the spiritual or seasonal meaning attached to the day.

Salt is given up for the five days, and with it anything cooked with it - the fast is fruit, milk and unsalted food. Wheat is sown in a small pot on the first day and the shoots are watched through the five. It ends with a night kept awake.