Vrat and upavas
According to Hinduism, the fasting of a person is known as
Vrat or Vratam and Upavas. There are several fasting which can be done for a peaceful and happy life. In the present scenario, more popular and prevalent fatigues among followers of Hinduism are Sankashti, Ekadashi and Pradosh.
According to the Hindu mythology different fasts have been recommended each having the objective of accomplishment of various kinds of tasks. These fasts cover all aspects of life including health, destiny, spiritual success, profession property, issues, overcoming obstacles, love life, marital, bliss, inflow of money, eradication of sins, material comforts, attainment of all round prosperity, and wealth and so on and the complete list of all the objectives is comprehensive. There are different connections of each vrat and upavas to respective god.
Pradosh Upaavas fasting is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is generally done by people to get a compatible partner in life, sexual satisfaction, fulfillment and marital bliss in the life.
Fasting's are mainly suggested for the long and better life of the people and to find a compatible partner. Fasting is suggested to get rid of the cycle of birth and death i.e. to attain Moksha.
Sankashti Vrat is observed one time in a month while Ekadashi Vrat and Pradosh Vrat are observed twice every month. Some people generally observe Ekadashi as well as Pradosh Vrat. One day gap is usually seen between Ekadashi and Pradosh fasting but many a times, they are observed on two consecutive days.
Symbolic Ekadashi Parana is suggested to be done with only water and can be continued without actually breaking the fast. Although it seems difficult but fasts are quite normal even for consecutive days in Hinduism.
Poornima Vrat:
Purnima fasting is mainly observed either on Purnima or one day before Purnima day i.e. on Chaturdashi day depending on starting time of Purnima Tithi on the previous day.
Purnima fasting on Chaturdashi occurs only when Purnima starts during Madhyahna period on the previous day.
If Chaturdashi prevails beyond Madhyahna then it is believed that it pollutes Purnima Tithi and Purnima fasting is not considered for this Chaturdashi day even if Purnima prevails during the evening.
Full moon day is called Purnima or Poornima in north India whereas in south India, it is called Pournima or Pournima Vratam. Pournima Vratam is mainly observed from the initial sunrise to the sighting of the moon.
Two different locations can have different Pournima Fasting days, hence one should set the location whenever note down the Pournima Vratam dates.
Amavasya Vrat:
It is the new moon day in the Hindu calendar and is a significant day as different rituals are performed only on Amavasya Tithi. Amavasya which comes on weekday Saturday is called Shani Amavasya.
All the ancestors can be appeased by performing Shraddha rituals on all the Amavasya days. Kalsarpa Dosha puja can also be appropriately performed on this Amavasya day.
Ekadashi Vrat:
According to Hindu Calendar, it is mainly obtained on every 11th Tithi. In a complete month, there are two Ekadashi fasting, one during Shukla Paksha and the other one during Lord Krishna Paksha. Ekadashi Vrat is observed to seek the blessings of Lord Vishnu devotees.
Pradosh Vrat:
It is also called as Pradosham in south India and it is observed to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. Some people distinguish between Krishna Paksha Pradosham and Shukla. The Pradosh Vrat is generally observed on both Trayodashi Tithis i.e. Shukla Paksha Trayodashi and Krishna Paksha Trayodashi, in lunar month.
Soma Pradosham is when the Pradosham falls on Monday, Bhauma Pradosham is when it falls on Tuesday and Shani Pradosham when it falls on Saturday.
Sankashti Chaturthi:
It is also known as Sankata Hara Chaturthi and this auspicious day is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Sankashti Chaturthi is observed in every Lunar month of Hindu Calendar month on the fourth day of Krishna Paksha.
If this Chaturthi falls on Tuesday, it is called Angaraki Sankashti Chaturthi. Angaraki Sankashti Chaturthi is considered as highly important among all Sankashti Chaturthi days.
All the devotees observe strict fast on this day and break their fast at night by preceding prayers to Lord Ganesha by having auspicious sight of the moon.
Devotees believe that their prayers would be fulfilled if they pray on this particular day. The fast is also believed to remove all the difficulties and obstacles by the supreme Lord of Intelligence.
Vinayak Chaturthi:
It is also known as Ganesh Chaturthi and is one of the most important festivals of Hindu. It is celebrated throughout India with great devotion. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed is son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Lord Ganesha is the symbol of prosperity, wisdom and good fortune and their birthday is celebrated on this day. Ganesh Chaturthi in 2017 is on the Friday, 25th of Aug (8/25/2017).
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on Shukla Chaturthi of the Hindu month of Bhadra. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm by Hindus. Lord Ganesh’s idols are brought to their home by devotees and then they do worship of that idol. It is a 1 day to 11 days long duration festival, which depends on the tradition and place. The idols are taken out with musical and colorful procession and immersed traditionally in water on the last day of this festival.
Students have their own importance for this festival and, they mainly worship Lord Ganesh to illumine their minds.
According to the Hindu mythology Lord Ganesh is also considered as "Buddhi Pradaayaka" (one who grants intelligence) and "Vigana Harta" (one who removes obstacles).
Sankrati Vrat:
There are total 12 Sankranti annualy according to Hindu calendar. And all of them can be divided into broad four categories which are known as Vishuva, Vishnupadi, Shadshitimukhi and Ayan Sankranti. These 12 Sankranti provides complete information of the categorization of Sankranti and they have a huge significance in the Hindu Calendar.
Amongst all Sankranti, Makar Sankranti is the most significant and is observed for mainly four days. The complete details are available on Makar Sankranti Calendar which lists all the rituals and events followed during four days of the Sankranti festivities.
Sankranti days are considered good for different kinds of charity activities and all types of auspicious ceremonies are avoided on this day.
