Fasts & Festivals

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Views : 2805 | August 2017

Fasts & festivals are an integral part of Hindu culture. Majority of fasts are associated with festivals whereas some of the fasts are independent too. The significance, method of determination of date & timing, method of doing fasting and full procedure of celebration of festival along with story behind each fast and festival has been discussed in detail in Hindu mythological texts. There is special importance of observing fasts and celebrating festivals in correct Muhurat and our software Leostar & Vrihat Shatabdi Panchang helps in the correct determination of date and timing of celebration of these fasts and festivals. Actually these are the powers of special Puja performed in the given Muhurat of Fast/Festival which help one attain multifold beneficial results.

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What is fast?

The Sanskrit word for fast is ‘upa-vaas’, which means staying close to God. The original concept of fasting entailed a deviation from the normal life style and devoting one day to introspection. Fasts are of various types. In most of the fasts the meal is skipped. In some fasting the people don't even drink water. Some of the fasts are observed with the objective of getting rid of some kind of addiction. Some fasts are recommended to natives by astrologers to be practiced as effective remedial measures for the rectification of various problems whereas most of the fasts have deep spiritual significance. Apart from this fasting is also practiced for medical reasons as it keeps the body light, gives rest to the digestive system and helps in the removal of toxins from our body. Practicing silence is also a form of fasting. Practicing Brahmcharya is essential part of fasting. Everybody who practices fasting spends most of his time in doing meditation, prayers, Bhajans and in listening Vrat Katha.

Important Quotes on Fasting

No form of asceticism is superior to fasting – Mahabharata
Instead of looking outside of ourselves and counting potential enemies, fasting summons us to turn our glance inward, and to take the measure of our greatest challenge: the self, the ego, in our own eyes and as others see us. - Tariq Ramadan
The philosophy of fasting calls upon us to know ourselves, to master ourselves, and to discipline ourselves the better to free ourselves. To fast is to identify our dependencies, and free ourselves from them. - Tariq Ramadan
By doing fasting mind becomes introversive, sight turns clean and body remains light – Kaka Kalelkar
Fasting is the most effective technique of curing all diseases. – Dr. Adolf Mayer
Through prayer, fasting, and studying, God will answer. - Monica Johnson
Fasting has unlimited power in it because psychological strength works behind it. Fasting can be done by the powerful people not by the weak. – M.K. Gandhi
Periodic fasting can help clear up the mind and strengthen the body and the spirit. - Ezra Taft Benson
Any work done without faith is an evil. That work neither turns out to be beneficial in this world nor in the next world after death – Srimadbhagvadgita
Fasting is the best solution to get rid of sexuality and lust – Srimadbhagvadgita

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On the day of fasting the individual is supposed to stay away from all worldly pleasures so that he doesn't get distracted from the path of his spiritual practices.

What is Festival?

A festival day or period is defined as that of religious celebrations. Festivals in various communities are those events which are celebrated to give respect to some religious or cultural beliefs. Next to these are folklore and agricultural events.

Fasts & Festivals List

Here is the list of important fasts & festivals –

Raviwar Vrata	Somwar Vrata	Mangalwar Vrata	Buddhawar Vrata
Brihaspatiwar Vrata	Shukrawar Vrata	Shaniwar Vrata Katha	Shaniwar Vrata Katha
Nav Samvatsar Pratipada	Gangaur /Gauri Tritiya	Kamada Ekadashi	Sankashti Sri Ganesh Chaturthi
Paapmoachani Ekadashi	Varuthini Ekadashi	Mohini Ekadashi	Akshay Tritiya
Apara Ekadashi	Ganga Dushehra	Bheemsaini Nirjala Ekadashi	Yogini Ekadashi
Devashayani Ekadashi	Gurupurnima	Kamika Ekadashi	Naag Panchami
Putrada Ekadashi	Srikrishna Janamashtami	Uja Ekadashi	Haritalika Teej/Vrata
Rishi Panchami	Parivartini /Padma Ekadashi	Anant Chaturdashi	Indira Ekadashi Vrata
Papankusha Ekadashi	Sharad Poornima	Navratri/Durga Pujan Vrata	Karwa Chauth
Ahoi Ashtami	Dhan Teras	Rama Ekadashi	Narak Chaturdashi
Deepawali /Laxmi Pujan	Annakoot /Govardhan Pujan	Festival of Suryopasna / Chhat Parva	Devothhani Ekadashi
Baikunth Chaturdashi Vrata	Bhairava Ashtami	Utpanna Ekadashi	Mokshada Ekadashi
Safala Ekadashi	Putrada Ekadashi	Makar Sankranti	Shadtila Ekadashi
Jaya Ekadashi	Vijaya Ekadashi	Mahshivaratri Vrata	Amalki/Aanwal Ekadashi
Pradosh Vrata	Aja Ekadashi	Akshaya Tritiya	Amalaki Ekadashi
Apara Ekadashi	Anant Chaturdashi	Barabanki Mela	Bhishma Ashtami
Buddha Purnima	Bhau-beej	Chaitra Navratri	Chhath pooja
Christmas Day	Dakshinayana Sankranti	Dev Utthan Ekadashi	Devshayani Ekadashi
Durga Puja	Dussehra	Dhan Trayodashi	Diwali
Ganesh Chaturthi	Gokul Ashtami	Ganesh Festival	Ganga Dussehra
Govardhan Puja	Bhai Dooj	Gudi Padava / Ugadi	Guru Purnima
Hanuman Jayanti	Holi	Holla Mohalla	Haldi Kumkum
Indira Ekadashi	Jiviti Puja	Kartik Purnima	Karwa Chauth
Kumbh Mela	Kojagiri Poornima	Maha Navami	Mahashivratri
Maheshwari Jayanti	Makar Sankranti	Margashirsha Purnima	Onam
Parshuram Jayanti	Paryushan	Paush Purnima	Pitru Paksha
Pongal	Putrada Ekadashi Vrat	Raksha Bandhan	Ram Navami
Rama Ekadashi	Ratha Saptami	Rishi Panchmi	Saraswati Avahan
Sarvapitru Amavasya	Shani Jayanti	Sharad Purnima	Shivaji Jayanti
Shravana Putrada Ekadashi	Tula Sankranti	Tulsi Vivah	Varuthini Ekadashi
Vasant Panchami	Vat Savitri Puja	Vijaya Ekadashi	Vishwakarma Pooja/
Vrishabha Sankranti	Yogini Ekadashi	Maha Navratri	-