Karwa Chauth is celebrated in the month of Karthik, right after Navratri ends. The festival is celebrated by married women who keep a fast before sunrise till moonrise to pray for their husbands’ long lives, health, and well-being. Both married and unmarried women keep a fast for their better halves. Karwa Chauth also symbolizes the love between the husband and wife.
It is said that Karwa Chauth is one of the toughest fasts to keep as women not only refrain from eating anything but also don’t consume water the entire day. They can eat only after the moon rises, and they have done the aarti of their husbands.
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Importance of sargi
Before keeping fast on Karwa Chauth, women receive a sargi thali from their mothers-in-law at dawn. A sargi thali includes all energizing things the daughter-in-law can consume to sustain throughout the day. These items include meethai, juice or tea, coconut, mathri or paratha, etc.
Besides the eatables, the sargi thali also includes indoor, saree, mehendi, and other items of vanity as a sign of love and care. Simply put, a sargi is an essential part of the Karwa Chauth, a symbol of love and blessings from a mother-in-law and the bahus.
The mothers-in-law, who are not with their daughters-in-law on this special occasion, send their love and blessings through sargi gifts for Karwa Chauth, including cosmetics, chocolates, dry fruits, and more.
As Karwa Chauth is around the corner, let’s know the significance of sargi, the essential items for the Karwa Chauth sargi thali, and more!
What is the significance of the Karwa Chauth sargi?
Sargi is an important part of the Karwa Chauth fasting ritual. It’s important for two reasons, one being an important meal to provide energy to the women to observe fast for the rest of the day. Secondly, the sargi meal is prepared by a mother-in-law for her bahu, symbolizing love and care between the two. With the sargi and sargi gifts, the mother-in-law also blesses her bahu.
Karwa Chauth sargi items
As the festival is around the corner, you must have started planning on preparing a Karwa Chauth sargi thali for your dearest daughter-in-law. You can refer to the list below to ensure all these items are covered in your sargi for Karwa Chauth.
1. Fresh fruits
Fruits are one of the essential Karwa Chauth sargi food items that should not be missed when preparing the sargi thali for your daughter-in-law. Having fresh fruits before going on a day-long fast is a must as it will bring and maintain energy in the body throughout the day to your bahu. Bananas and apples are a rich source of vitamins and potassium and good for sargi. You can also give pomegranate, which replaces the need for water.
2. Dry fruits
Karwa Chauth is celebrated in the early days of the winter season. Consuming dry fruits such as almonds, cashews, raisins, etc., will replenish the body with important nutrients and energy for the fast and keep the body warm in winter.
3. Sweets
We all know that no Indian occasion, whether big or small, is complete with delicious sweets. Hence, mouthwatering mithais are also a part of Karwa Chauth sargi food items. Pick your daughter-in-law’s favorite sweet, which she can eat and get energy from before observing fast.
4. Cooked food
How about preparing something cooked for your daughter-in-law before the day-long fast? You can prepare stuffed gobhi parantha in ghee, which will be a good source of carbohydrates and energy. Paneer ki sabzi will also be a great option as it is a rich source of protein.
5. Karwa Chauth box
Lastly, the essentials of sargi Karwa Chauth include a box containing the thali, channi, karwa, and a thali cover to protect all the items.
Some additional tips for Karwa Chauth sargi
1. Ensure to include soaked almonds in the Karwa Chauth sargi thali. Almonds are one of the richest sources of protein and fiber. It will help sustain the day by providing energy.
2. Coconut water can be consumed at the time of sargi. Coconut water is rich in electrolytes and will help keep the body hydrated.
3. You can also prepare kesar feni for the sargi. It is known to control appetite.
4. It is also advised not to eat fried food or too many sugary items in sargi. This is because too many oily or sugar food items will make you very thirsty throughout the day.
5. The entire day of Karwa Chauth will be spent fasting and not consuming water. So, at the time of Karwa Chauth sargi, it’s best to drink at least 2-3 glasses of water to stay hydrated and replenished for the rest of the day. Instead of having water, you can also have a few glasses of lemonade or nimbu paani to quench your thirst and get energy.
6. Avoid having tea or coffee at sargi as these beverages will make you feel dehydrated later. Instead, consuming buttermilk, amla juice, or green tea is better. These drinks contain the necessary antioxidants to keep you fresh and energized for the rest of the day.
Karwa Chauth is one of the most important occasions for any married couple. By keeping fast, the wife shows her love and affection for her husband by fasting all day. To help her tackle the entire day without food and water, she wakes up at dawn to have a Karwa Chauth sargi thali prepared by her mother-in-law. It includes all the food items that will replenish her throughout the day without feeling tired and exhausted.
We hope this blog was useful to you in understanding the importance of Karwa Chauth sargi, the Karwa Chauth sargi food items, and tips for fasting on the occasion. To know more about the festival, continue reading below, where we have answered some common questions about the occasion.
For more information about the festival, Karwa Chauth gifts idea and more, you can check out our previous blogs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. When is Karwa Chauth celebrated?
Karwa Chauth is an important festival celebrated by married women in India. The festival is observed after Navratri, on the fourth of the dark fortnight in the month of Karthik every year.
Karwa Chauth 2023 will be celebrated on 1st November.
Q. Why do wives keep a fast on Karwa Chauth?
A wife keeps fast on Karwa Chauth to pray to the gods for her husband’s longevity, success, and well-being. Some husbands also keep a fast to support their wives and pray for their well-being.
Q. Which is the best color to wear on Karwa Chauth?
Red is the most preferred color on Karwa Chauth, as it is the color of love and passion. Besides red, women can wear golden, fuchsia pink, yellow, burgundy, and orange.
Q. Which gods are worshipped on Karwa Chauth?
Women on Karwa Chauth worship Goddess Parvati, followed by Lord Shiva, Ganesha, and Kartikeya.
Q. What is the story behind celebrating Karwa Chauth?
There are many stories that people believe are the reason why Karwa Chauth is celebrated in India. According to the story of Savitri and Satyavan, when Lord Yama came to take the life of Satyavan, his wife Savitri begged the lord not to do so. She also stopped eating and even drinking water. Lord Yama asked her if she could ask for any boon except his husband’s life.
But Savitri was a very smart woman. She instead asked the lord of Death to say that she wanted to be blessed with children. This was, of course, not possible without her husband, to whom she was very loyal. Hence, Lord Yama had to give up and grant Satyavan’s life to fulfill Savitri’s wish.
Pratiksha is our in-house content writer who aims to provide quality content to her readers. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing, and learning about new things.