Jivitputrika Vrat, also called Jitiya Vrat or Jutiya Vrat, is a fast observed by mothers for the well being and healthy long-living life of their children. This fast is done in the North and central side of India which are mainly Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magadhi speaking areas. Mothers in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Nepal observe a fast of three days from Seventh Day of Ashwin month (as per Hindu calendar) to Ninth Day of Ashwin month. On the First day, ladies take a holy dip in the Ganga river and after taking a bath they worship the Goddess and then eat a vegetarian meal as lunch. Dinner is not observed on the First Day of fasting. On the Second Day of fasting, a diet of Fruits and Water is observed one time in a day. The third day is the toughest. On the third day, mothers have to stay without any food and water for the entire day. They can recover from the fast after worshipping the Goddess Jivita (Jutiya Mata) while asking blessings, long, healthy and well-being lifestyle for their children. After worshipping Jutiya Mata, mothers prepare delicacies and different dishes as a feast of celebrating the acceptance of their prayer.
It is believed that in some parts of the nation, mothers eat fish before the first day of fasting to please Jutiya Mata. It is, however, not compulsory at all. Also, some people make meals of millet instead of wheat on the third day of fasting, because they believe Jutiya Mata like millet over wheat. In some places, mothers also eat Spinach because it gives calcium and iron to sustain for three days. Also, the ladies wear red thread around their necks because it is holy. Some others make sure to eat Mustard oil because it is holy. But these are region specific beliefs and hold true to one’s belief and understanding only. There are different mentions of different beliefs at different places and are subject to the understanding of the devotee.
Story of Jivitputrika Vrat
There are 2 famous stories. The first one is from The Mahabharata. It states that during the Kurukshetra War, Ashwathama resorted to unfair war tactics and used his supreme powers to kill all the sons of Pandava Brothers off the war field. The sons who were killed were not only off the war field but were also deep asleep at night and were completely weaponless. Also, Ashwathama used his Brahmastra to kill Abhimanyu’s unborn son, while he was in the womb of Uttara, Arjun’s wife. When Lord Krishna got to know about this massacre, he used his powers to revive the sons from their dead. He also told about the entire episode to Arjun, who then decided to kill Ashwathama on the war field before sunset of the following day or else, he will give up his life. The mothers then celebrated the awake of their sons and worshipped Jivitputrika Mata (Jutiya Mata) for a better and long-living life of their sons. From then on, it was decided that on the Ninth Day of every Ashwin month, mothers will observe a fast for their children’s long life.
There is a second story too. It is said that there was a fearless and law-abiding king named Jimutvanhan. He ruled the Gandharva kingdom. He gave up his kingdom to his brothers and went for an exile for meditation and a life without any wishes and desires. While on his way, he found an old woman weeping out loud in deep grief. He approached the lady to enquire about the problem. The lady told him that she belonged to a caste of Nagvanshakis. This meant that they are from a family of snakes. There was an oath taken by one of her ancestors, due to which they had to give up their eldest son in the family as food to Lord Garuda. The lady was having only one son and was afraid and sad about losing him to an oath she did not consent to. When Jimutvanhan heard this story, he touched the lady’s feet and asked her to bless him like a mother. This made Jimutvanhan the elder son to the lady. After this, Jimutvanhan agreed to go in place of the son of the lady to keep the oath and save his younger brother. When Lord Garuda arrived, he tried to eat up Jimutvanhan with his claws and beaks. To his surprise, Jimutvanhan did not hesitate or retaliate to any harm made to him. This pleased Lord Garuda and he blessed the entire family of Nagvanshakis free of the oath. Also, Jimutvanhan attained Salvation (Moksha) for his sacrificing nature. Hence, from that day onwards, mothers kept Jutiya Vrat to seek blessings for their children.
When is Jivitputrika Vrat in 2022?
Jivitputrika Vrat is observed on 17th and 18th September 2022 from 5:30 PM on 17th September 2022 to 08:30 PM on 18th September 2022.
Rudrakshahub wishes all the mothers a very successful Jivitputrika Vrat and all the children, very safe, long, happy, healthy and prosperous life ahead
