Mangala Gauri Vrat Katha
The Tuesday vrat of Goddess Gauri for the long life of husband and sons
Mangala Gauri Vrat is kept by newly married women on the Tuesdays of the holy month of Shravan, worshipping Goddess Gauri (Parvati) for the long life and well-being of their husbands, for healthy children and for unbroken marital happiness. The following katha is recited during the puja.
The Boon with a Condition
In a certain city lived a wealthy merchant named Dharmapal and his wife. They had every comfort but no child, and grieved for it. By their devotion and worship they were at last granted a son — but it was foretold that the boy would live only sixteen years and would die of a snakebite. The parents raised him in love, their joy shadowed always by the prophecy.
As the boy approached his sixteenth year, he was sent away with his maternal uncle on a journey, in the hope of averting his fate. On the way they halted in a town where, by destiny, his marriage was arranged with a beautiful and virtuous girl — the daughter of a woman who had kept the Mangala Gauri vrat with perfect devotion all her life.
The Vrat that Lengthens Life
Because the girl's mother had so faithfully kept the Mangala Gauri vrat, Goddess Gauri had granted her the boon that her daughter would never be widowed. So when the appointed night came and the serpent of death approached to take the young husband's life, by the protective grace earned through that vrat it could not harm him. The boy who was fated to die at sixteen was spared, and lived on.
By the blessing of Mangala Gauri he was granted a full and prosperous life of a hundred years, with his devoted wife at his side. Hearing of this, married women everywhere began to keep the Mangala Gauri vrat through the Tuesdays of Shravan, praying for the long life of their own husbands and the welfare of their children. Thus whoever keeps the Mangala Gauri vrat with faith is blessed with akhand saubhagya — unbroken married happiness.
The Fruit of the Vrat
The Mangala Gauri vrat is kept by married women for the long life, health and success of their husbands, for the welfare and long life of their children, and for lasting marital happiness (akhand saubhagya). It is begun in the first year of marriage and traditionally continued for five years, concluded with an udyapan.
Mantras & Aarti for this Puja
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Mangala Gauri vrat kept?
On every Tuesday of the holy month of Shravan (Sawan). It is begun by women in the first year of their marriage and usually continued for five years, after which the udyapan ceremony is performed.
Which goddess is worshipped in the Mangala Gauri vrat?
Goddess Mangala Gauri — a form of Parvati (Gauri). She is worshipped with sixteen of each offering (sixteen flowers, garlands, bel-patra, laddoos, etc.), reflecting the sixteen marks of a married woman's good fortune (solah shringar).
Why do newly married women keep this vrat?
As the katha shows, the vrat earns the grace of Gauri for an unbroken marriage and the long life of one's husband and children, so it is especially observed by women in the early years of married life.