Teej
Tīja,, literally meaning "third"—denoting the third day after the new moon when the monsoon begins per the Hindu calendar—is a collective term for three Hindu festivals primarily dedicated to the mother goddess Pārvatī and her consort Śiva. It is mainly celebrated by married women and unmarried girls, especially in Nepal and North India, to pray for the long life of their husband or future husband and to welcome the arrival of the monsoon through singing, swinging, dancing, joyous celebration, pūjā, and often fasting.
Tīja collectively refers to three festivals: Haryālī Tīja, Kajari Tīja, and Hartālikā Tīja. Haryālī Tīja, also known as Sindhārā Tīja, Chhoṭī Tīja, Śrāvaṇa Tīja, or Sāvana Tīja, falls on the third day after the new moon in the month of Śrāvaṇa. It marks the day when Śiva consented to Pārvatī’s wish to marry him. Women visit their parental homes, prepare swings, and celebrate with song and dance.
Kajari Tīja, also known as Baṛī Tīja, is celebrated 15 days after Haryālī Tīja during the dark phase of the moon.
Hartālikā Tīja falls one lunar month after Haryālī Tīja on the third day after the new moon in the month of Bhādrapada. It commemorates the occasion when Pārvatī encouraged her friends to abduct her to avoid marriage with Viṣṇu, which her father Himālaya had arranged. Married women observe nirjala vrata on this day for the well-being of their husbands.
Etymology
Teej refers to the third day that falls every month after the new moon, and the third day after the full moon night of every lunar month. According to Kumar, Kajari Teej and Hartalika Teej fall in Bhadrapada.The festivals celebrate the bounty of nature, arrival of clouds and rain, greenery and birds with social activity, rituals, and customs. The festivals for women, include dancing, singing, getting together with friends and telling stories, dressing up with henna-coloured hands and feet, wearing red, green or orange clothes, sharing festive foods, and playing under trees on swings on Haryali Teej. The monsoon festival in Rajasthan is dedicated to Parvati.Haryali Teej is celebrated on the third day after the new moon in the month of Shraavana/''Sawan''. As Shraavana falls during the monsoon or rainy season when the surroundings become green, the Shraavana Teej is also called Hariyali Teej.
The Hariyali Teej festival is also celebrated to remember the reunion of Shiva and Parvati, the day when Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife. Parvati fasted and was austere for many years and was accepted by Shiva as his wife in her 108th birth. Parvati is also known as Teej mata.On Teej married daughters receive the gifts by her mother such clothes, bangles, bindi, mehandi, etc. Ghevar, a special sweet, are given to them on this day. These gifts are known as Sindhara. According to Bhatnager, Sindhara is derived from the Sanskrit word sringar which means "decoration of women and their charming beauty".
Observance of
Haryali teej is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and Rajasthan. The festival is also celebrated in Chandigarh.Chandigarh
makes special arrangements for Teej celebration in the Rock Garden in the city. School children present plays and other cultural programs on this day. The female members of the family, especially daughters, are given gifts and dresses.Haryana
Haryali Teej is one of the famous festivals of Haryana, and is celebrated as an official holiday. Many functions are organised by the Government of Haryana to celebrate this festival, which welcomes the rainy season. Boys traditionally flew kites from morning to evening, though this tradition is losing its charm in big cities due to high rise buildings and lack of terrace space.Swings are set up in open courtyards, under trees for the season. Girls apply henna to their hands and feet and are excused from household chores on this day. On Teej, girls often receive new clothes from their parents.
On Teej, just as on Karva Chauth, the mother sends a baya or gift. The puja is performed in the morning. The baya, which consists of a variety of foodstuffs, is placed on a thaali at a place of worship where a Courtyard has been decorated, and an idol or picture of Parvati has been installed. The evenings are set aside for folk singing and dancing, including the women's prayers for their husbands' longevity and their families.
Punjab
Teej is known as Teeyan in Punjab and is seen as a seasonal festival which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon. The festival is celebrated by women of all faiths, and lasts from the third day of the bright half of the lunar month of Sawan as per the Bikrami calendar to the full moon of Sawan. Teeyan involves women getting together and performing Gidda, married women visiting their families and receiving gifts. It is also traditional for women to ride on swings.Fairs are organised in schools and colleges where dance competitions are held.
Teeyan is a festival when girls play on swings that are set up under trees or open courtyards. During Teeyan, family members give gifts, typically new clothes and accessories, to girls and women. Sweets are prepared especially Ghevar in some parts of Punjab.
Rajasthan
Teej welcomes the monsoon and observed in the month of Shravan. The monsoon rains fall on the parched land and the pleasing scent of the wet soil rises into the air. Swings are hung from trees and women dressed in green clothes sing songs in celebration of the advent of the monsoon.This festival is dedicated to Parvati, commemorating her union with Shiva. Parvati is worshipped by seekers of conjugal bliss and happiness. An elaborate procession is taken out in Jaipur for two continuous days on the festive occasion which is watched by people in large numbers. The Teej idol is covered with a canopy whereas the Gangaur idol is open. The traditional Ghevar sweet is also associated with the festival.
During Teej, Parvati is worshiped. The day before Haryali Teej, is celebrated as Sinjara, wherein women put mehndi on their hands and feet.Kajari Teej is celebrated in the Bikrami lunar month of Bhadrapada: the third day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada. Kajari Teej is also called Boorhi Teej. In Rajasthan, Kajari Teej is called Badi Teej as it follows Haryali Teej, which is known as Chhoti Teej.
Women in Bhojpuri region of Uttar Pradesh pray to Shiva on Kajari Teej. It is also customary to sing folk songs known as kajris. The focus of the lyrics is usually on separation expressing the pining of a woman for her beloved in her parents' home, where she has been sent to celebrate Teej, or waiting in anticipation to be collected by brothers to celebrate Teej. The Kajari is a folk song composed and sung in the Bhojpuri region of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai region of Nepal.
Women who observe the Kajari Teej fast go without food and water. Kajari Teej is associated closely with Kajali Teej, which also involves praying to the moon. The fast is broken by eating sattu. The other focus of the day is to pray to the neem tree. A fair named Kajali Teej Mela is held in Bundi in Rajasthan to celebrate Kajari Teej.Hartalika is a combination of the Sanskrit words harit and aalika which means "abduction" and "female friend" respectively. According to the legend of Hartalika Teej, Parvati, incarnated as Shailaputri
On the third day of the bright half of Bhadrapada, Parvati made a lingam out of sand and silt of Ganga and prayed. Shiva was so impressed that he gave his word to marry Parvati. Eventually, Parvati was united with Shiva and was married to him with her father's blessing. Since then, the day is referred to as Hartalika Teej as Parvati's female friend had to abduct her in order for the goddess to achieve her goal of marrying Shiva.
Accordingly, Hartalika Teej is seen as a major festival and is celebrated on the third day of the bright half of the Indian/North Nepali Lunar month of Bhadrapada. The festival women feasting during the evening of Hartalika Teej, praying to Parvati and Shiva, remembering their wedding and staying up all night listening to prayers. The fast commences during the evening of Hartalika Teej and is broken the next day after a full day's observance which involves women not even drinking water. The focus is on praying to Parvati whom Shiva desired should be worshipped under the name Hartalika. The main areas of celebration are Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Nepal. In Rajasthan, an idol of Parvati is taken out in procession in the streets accompanied by singing, and music. Hartalika Teej has also spread to parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh.
In Maharashtra Hartalika teej also known as Hartalika tritiya vrat, which is celebrated in similar manner like northern India. It is observed by married women for the welfare, health, and long life of their husbands and for a happy married life and unmarried girls for being blessed with a good husband. It is Nirjala Vrat, they fast for one and half day.
Women do Sola shrungar, apply mehndi, wear new red or green sari, observe fast, make idol of Shiva, Gauri, Sakhi and Ganesha with clay or river sand, read katha.
They do bhajan sangeet pooja in night as well and open vrat on the second day.
It is very auspicious vrat for women in India to worship goddess Parvati in the form of Gauri along with Shiva parivar.
In eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, married women keep Nirjala Upvas for the whole day of Teej, & deck up with Shringaars like Aalta, Mehndi, e.t.c.. In the evening, the women get decked up in heavy sarees, gold jewellery,their wedding Chunris, & don the traditional orange Sindoor from the tip of their nose. In many homes, it is a tradition to wear their wedding Banarasi Saree, on the eve of Teej. They make & worship small clay idols of Shiva, Gauri, Ganesh & Kartikeya. They offer flowers, garlands, Fruits, sweets & items of 16 Shringaar to Maa parvati. Then they recite & listen to the Hartālikā Teej Katha,& offer reverence to the deities. Very early in the next morning,before sunrise, the women get ready & worship the idols again & finally conclude their fasts. The idols are later immersed in a holy water body. In Bhojpuri region, traditional delicacies such as Thekua, Pidukia, e.t.c. are prepared for offering. Traditional folk songs are sung, & women adorn Sindoor from their wedding Sinhora.