Teej
Which god worship on the occasion of Teej?
Goddess Parwati worship on the occasion of Teej.
What are the other names for this puja? (If any)
Teeyan, Festival of Greenery ,HariyaliTeej, Tay, Haritalika, Konkanis, GowriKabbaare the other names for this puja.
History of the above occasion
As we all know, Goddess Parwatilove Lord Shiva and very dedicated towards him. But unfortunately, Lord Shiva don’t know about this. And she wants him as her husband, so for the several years she done penance on Himalayas and then Shiva notice this. He saw her love and devotion towards him and agreed for the marriage to her. After this, Goddess Parwati worshipped on the occasion of Teej as Haritalika.And this begins the occasion or puja of Teej.
What is the significance of the above occasion?
Teej has great importance for the married women and unmarried girls as they observe fast for the whole day and some keep fast even without water. Married women keep fast for their happy married life and unmarried girls keep fast for the good and desired husbands.
What are the things or material required for the worship of this puja?
Statue or idol of Goddess Parwati, diya, agarbatti, water in a vessel, roli, rice, sweets, flowers, fruits, money, story book of Teejare the things or material required for the worship of this puja.
What is the vidhi (method) of worship?
To perform the puja, first of all the women gather at a place like garden, temple or at someone’s home and form a semi circle and keep statue or idol of Goddess Parwati in their middle. They begin the puja by lighting the agarbatti and diya which alight for the full night. They throw some drops of water on the idol, offeredroli, rice,sweets, flowers, fruits, money and other religious items.Next the story or Katha of Teej is said by any women of the group and everyone sitting their listen carefully and take blessings from the Goddess Parwati.
How to celebrate this occasion?
On Teej, married woman and unmarried girls wear new dresses, jewellery, apply mehendi on their hands and feet, enjoy the season of spring, playing games with each other, dance, sing songs. In Maharashtra, women carry green bangles with green clothes, kajal and bindi golden in coour for their good luck.In Rajasthan, Ghewar is a popular sweet dish associated with this puja.
Women offer fresh fruits and green vegetables to Parwatiand coconut which is beautifully painted to their relatives who are female only. After the puja gets over women enjoy rice patolis, mixed vegetable prepared and cooked with some spices and coconut milk and jaggerywhich issteamed in the leaves of banana, sweet dish prepared from rice and coconut milk.
In Haryana, its State Govt. organized different functions to celebrate the occasion. Kite flying also occurs during this time and girls enjoy the swings. On this day, girls received Baya or gift from their mother in the form of various foodstuffs which is kept in the thaliwhile worshipping by the women.
In Chandigarh, the festival takes place in the rock garden, arrangements done by the Chandigarh administration for the same and here school children’s perform plays and various cultural programs. Female candidates received dresses and gifts.
In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated for a week. On the first day, wheat is kept on a small bamboo basket by the unmarried girls and on the last day, they immerse all the wheat in a river or pond.
What are the timings to celebrate this puja or occasion in a year?
This puja comes in the month of Bhadra on the third day of its first fortnight.
In which parts of the country, this puja is considered as more important?
In Western and Northern parts of India, this puja is considered as more important. It is celebrated in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, M.P., U.P., Maharashtra.