Kokila Vrat 2016

Kokila Vrat is a vrat observed according to the Hindu calendar. Its date and customary practices can vary by region and local Panchang.

Kokila Vrat is a regional monsoon observance associated with Shiva, Parvati and the koel or cuckoo bird. In popular religious accounts Sati leaves her body after the insult to Shiva at Daksha's sacrifice. Later tradition says she must pass a period in the form of a cuckoo before taking birth as Parvati, daughter of the Himalaya. Devotees remember her longing to be reunited with Shiva, although the bird episode appears in variable folk retellings rather than one uniform scriptural origin story.

Some households honour the koel symbolically, listen to its song and worship Shiva and Parvati while praying for family harmony. Food restrictions, the beginning and conclusion of the vow, and whether it is observed for one day or a longer period differ substantially by community. The bird should not be captured or disturbed for worship.

The day is Ashadha Purnima as it stands at dusk, because the vrat's puja is done in the evening. When Purnima begins in the afternoon, the vrat starts that evening, often a day before Guru Purnima. In western India it is kept every year, and many continue it for the month to Shravan Purnima. The story of Sati and Parvati is told as devotion, without a made-up chronology of rebirth.

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

Worship Shiva and Parvati and symbolically honour the cuckoo without disturbing birds; follow household fasting rules.

A month rather than a day. Most keep one meal, and some take only fruit and milk, from Ashadh Purnima to the end of Shravan.

Regional western Indian tradition; exact multi-day observance and lunar month need verification.