Karva Chauth Katha — Veervati's Devotion

Long ago, there lived a beautiful queen named Veervati who had seven devoted brothers. On the occasion of Karva Chauth, she fasted from sunrise, following tradition, with prayers for her husband's long life and prosperity.

By evening, the fast had been long and Veervati was weak with hunger. Her brothers could not bear to see their beloved sister suffer. As she waited for the moon to rise to break her fast, the brothers devised a plan. They held a lamp behind a sieve and created a glow that resembled the moon rising.

Veervati, deceived, broke her fast without the real moon's appearance. But almost immediately, a terrible message arrived from the palace: her husband the king had suddenly died. Veervati was devastated. She understood that breaking the Karva Chauth fast improperly — before the actual moon — had had a terrible consequence.

She refused to be consoled. She sat in vigil by her husband's body for the entire year, neither eating lavishly nor living carelessly, maintaining her faith. The following Karva Chauth, she observed the fast with absolute purity — from sunrise to the actual moonrise, with no deception and complete devotion.

Her prayers and fast were so powerful that Yama — the god of death — was compelled to return her husband's soul. The king revived. The couple were reunited, and their life together was long, joyful, and prosperous.

From that day, Karva Chauth became established as the great vrat for married women — a day of fasting, devotion, and the deep bond of love and prayer for one's husband's wellbeing. The fast must always be broken only upon seeing the actual moon.