Kajari Teej, also popular as Satudi Teej and Badi Teej in various regions, is a famous and beloved monsoon festival among Hindu females.
Alike Chhoti Teej's rituals are especially observed by the girls, the observations of Badi Teej AKA Kajari Teej are performed by married ladies.
This festivity comes to spread joy among females three days after Rakhi in Bhadrapada month as per the North Indian calendar.
Those who consider the South Indian calendar for knowing the date and Muhurat of Teej worship and rituals, celebrate Teej in Panchang's Shravan month.
Hindu females worship Shiva and Parvati on this day for seeking blessings on their families.
Other than Kajari Teej, Hariyali Teej (Chhoti Teej), Hartalika Teej, Akshay Tritiya (Akha Teej), and Gangaur are also famous as Teej festivals of India.
The festival of swings and singing folk Geets,
Comes with the joy and popular traditional sweets!
Some enjoy greenery, others love adornments,
Oh it brings joy, thrill, and a pool of excitement!
Preview
Date and Time of Kajari Teej Observance: When is Kajari Teej?
In North India, Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya is the day when North Indian calendar followers held their favorite festival's celebratory events.
It means they observe this Badi Teej on Panchang’s Bhadrapada month’s third date (tithi) when it is the dark side (dark fortnight or Krishna Paksha) of the moon.
Those who probe South Indian calendar for finding Kajari Teej Muhurat and date, mark the festival on Shravana Krishna Tritiya.
Though their calendars show that they observe Kajari Teej in Bhadrapada and Shravana — two different Hindi months of Panchang — yet the day falls on the same date of the English calendar (Gregorian calendar).
Interestingly, Badi Teej is marked:
- Fifteen days after enjoying the Hariyali Teej’s observations
- Three days after the festivity of Rakhi (Raksha Bandhan)
- Five days before the celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami
Kajari Teej in Upcoming Years
History of Kajari Teej
Although there are no evidances of the legends mentioned in the stories yet they are believed to exist by the elderly Hindu ladies.
Such a story that boosts faith in the worship of Teej mata is known as "Teej Vrat Katha" (story of Teej fasting).
Some ladies believe or nor in the existance of these ancient stories, but they do become a part of the narration with faith in the rituals.
Kajari Teej Celebration
As the Teej festival worship rituals and customs revolve around women, the festivity is also enjoyed among females only. The nearby neighbor females connect to have a get-together for worshipping and other rituals or customs.
The observations include:
- Singing Kajli songs (Kajali or Kajari songs), folk songs, Teej songs, and regional Geet
- Dancing in folk styles
- Swinging on the hanging rope on a tree
- Playing games, especially fundi or Foondi in which two females join hands and make swirls.
When it is about a rural area, people do celebrate Teej introducing music to their ways in abundance.
Preparations (Preliminary Activities) of Kajari Teej
Sattu or Satu: An Indian Homemade Sweet-Dish
Indian ladies prepare a sweet at home from besan, giving it a laddu-like shape. They use it as a worship offering and break their fast also from it. These are used as offerings as well along with other items worn by a married lady.
When They Make Sattu and When Not?
Females avoid to make Teej special sweet dish called Sattu or Besan laddu on Kadva Var or Katthor din (literally bitter day). They also skip any tooti hui tithi (literally breaking day as per Panchang calendar followed by Hindus) or third day from Teej. In such a case it is prepared before four or five days. Usually the Sattu dish or sweet is made on the first day as per Panchang.
Henna Application on Hands and Feet
The night before the day of Kajari Teej, females embellish their hands by applying henna (mehndi). Married women apply on their feet too.
The Mehandi designs and their color remain the talk of the town as ladies show great interest in finding out the best henna design. Many explore new ones too.
The popular henna designs that one can notice in hands are:
- Bharva
- Marwari
- Floral curves
- Saravagi
- Arabic
Yet the traditional style — in which females cover the tips of their fingers and place a full moon-like round in between the palm — remains always in.
Even during the get-together, females do probe the Mehandi designs and appreciate each other.
Things to Collect for Kajari Teej Worship
- Kumkum (Sindoor, the red powder)
- Chawal (Rice)
- Haldi (turmeric)
- Henna (Mehandi)
- Sweets (Traditional homemade or purchased from the market)
- Fruits
Kajari Teej (Puja Vidhi): Method of Kajari Teej Worship
Neem Puja or Neemdi Ki Puja (Worship of Holy Neem)
There are some regions where females worship the tree of Neem or establish a symbolic branch of Neem‘s tree in the soil at home. It is not for planting the Neem tree. The whole setup is removed the next day.
Indian Hindu ladies gather in small groups to offer their worship. Although it is so common that every family finds an elderly lady to guide about the ways of performing the customary rituals yet some take the help of a knowledgeable priest too.
Community ladies offer the collected worship items to Neem's tree or branch during the worship.
Kajari Teej Katha
After the completion of Neem Puja (worship of Neem), a priest or any lady who remembers the Teej Vrat Katha (Story of Teej Fasting), narrates the ancient stories.
Kajari Teej Rituals
Early Morning Practices
On Teej days, females wake up early morning to perform worship-related rituals right after taking their morning bath.
Ladies essentilaly wash their head too on this day and then participate in the worship or rituals.
Females get ready donning the 16 Shringar items (ideally) and wear beautiful Indian traditional attire such as Lehenga-Odhni or sari on Teej. They almost don the appearance of a bride or newlywed ones for Teej.
Processions of Devi Parvati
Other than the distinguished cultural happenings, the processions of Parvati also remain the center of attraction on Teej in Rajasthan.
One can witness folk dancers, artists, musicians who play regionally famous instruments, elephants, camels, and vibrant culture in the processions. Places such as Bundi offer never-forgettable experiences to tourists from India and abroad because of the beauty, surroundings, and colors around.
A Visit to Parents’ Home
Kajari Tij is also special and dear to married women for getting an opportunity to visit their parents' homes. During their visit for fulfilling this customary tradition, they preferably wear green attire and bangles. In India, mostly women don a green sari.
Sindhara (Sinjara)
When they get ready to come back to their in-laws' place, their parents pack Sinjara (AKA Sindhara) with them. Sinjara is a token of love in which a bucket is filled with gifts for them and their in-laws. The package of Sindhara — the bunch of goodies — also contains bangles, henna, and sweets such as Ghewar, Malpuye, and homemade sweets.
This custom of gifting Sindhara to daughter on Teej is so popular that Hariyali Teej is addressed Sindhara Teej too.
Sinjara is nothing but a bunch of gifts that a married daughter gets from her parents before going back to her husband’s or in-law’s home.
Fasting on Kajari Teej
The Teej fast that women keep on this day is called Kajari Teej Vrat. Many women keep a very strict and tough fast too.
Those women who observe Kajari Teej fast, wake up prior to sunrise to intake some food after taking bath during the early morning. After this, they neither eat food nor drink water the whole day.
Females break their fast after worshipping the Neem (tree or a symbolic branch) and offering water to the moon.
If the moon doesn’t show up at night because of the cloudy sky or bad weather, the observers of the Teej fast break it the next day after seeing the sun in the morning.
After the completion of all the worship-related rituals and seeing the moon, females break their Teej fast by eating any fruit or Sattu (homemade sweet dish).
It is said that those women who initiate this Kajari Teej fast must continue it for 16 years or a lifetime. However, if a female wants to discontinue the fasting, she performs the rituals of Teej Uddhyapan as the ending ceremony of the series of her fasting on Teej.
Offerings/Donation on Kajari Teej
From Parents to Their Married Daughter
The parents of a newly wedded daughter offer a Satu Peenda of 5 ser. Here, Satu or Sattu Peenda is a sweet made in Indian home on Teej with besan. "5 ser ka peenda" means a sweet ball or laddu of 5kg or 5000 grams. This much is sent to the daughter's in-laws' house for the first year only.
After that, they offer Satyu Pind of Sava Ser (1250 grams) in forthcoming years.
What If Parents Can't Send
In case of the unavailability, inability, disbelief, or lack of interest of a parent in sending the presents, females prepare the sweet in their own home (husband's place) for following the traditions.
Kajari Teej Uddhyapan (Completion)
Ladies make 17 peende (sweet lumps in a round shape like a laddu) and place a Supari (nutmeg or areca nut) on each one of them. They also buy 17 fresh plates or other utensils to place their sweet peende.
Other than the above, females also gather the following cloth-pieces or shringar items (adornments), each in 17 numbers to offer to married ladies:
- Sari (Traditional Indian dress that is worn by Hindu females after marriage)
- Blouse piece (For wearing with sari)
- Kangan (Bangles)
- Mehandi (Henna)
- Bindi (An adornment to place on the head between eyebrows)
- Kajal (kohl)
- Bicchiya (An ornament to wear on the middle finger of the foot)
- Darpan (mirror).
16 of the above are given to 16 ladies (relatives or so) and the 17th one is given to the mother-in-law. Females often present a baise (Traditional Indian attire that is heavy in comparison to a sari and expensive in price) to their mother-in-law along with other items of shringar (makeup and adornments for embellishment).
The above is given after Chandra-darshan (seeing the moon) and giving argh (worship-offering ritual with the moon) to it.
The Indian brides or married ladies wear the Solah Shringar items (16 Shringar things) as the sign of a husband's blessing in their life. They offer the above shringar items to married ladies so to maintain the same blessing in their upcoming days of life.
Hindu ladies also make a "Sava Ser Ka Peenda" (a bigger laddu of 1250 grams).
Why is Kajari Teej Celebrated?
Females who belong to Hindu families find Kajari Teej very auspicious for married women and show great devotion to attract good tiding in their families.
Significance of Kajari Teej
Married females observe the Teej Vrat, offer worships, and perform the other Teej rituals for the long life of their husband and happiness in the family. Along with longevity, women seek the blessing of prosperity as well for their husbands and family.
Single, unmarried females long for a good match for them while observing the Teej rituals and customary practices.
This Hindu festival of Badi Teej celebrates both the monsoon season and the spirit of womanhood.
Indian women enjoy Teej so much that despite being the one or two days long event only, its essence and joy can be felt till the celebration of Janmashtami.
The observations and enthusiasm for Teej celebration unfold a unique facet of Indian culture, practices, and traditions.
God and Goddess People Worship on Kajari Teej
By worshiping Shiva and Parvati, girls seek the blessings of finding their ideal match, females seek the peace, joy, and marital blessings in their families.
Why People Worship Shiva Parvati on Kajari Teej?
Shiva and Parvati are considered as the ideal husband and wife and so people worship them with great belief for seeking the blessings of living a blissful married life.
The Story of Kajari Teej
Story of Moneylender
Once a moneylender falls into wrong habit of visiting the place of a prostitute. Even after suffering from leprosy and loosing his wife's jewellery to the prostitude, he didn't change his ways.
One day, his righteous and obedient wife kept the fast of Teej which changed the heart of the prostitute and she rebuked the moneylender and told him to back to his wife.
During the worship rituals, some drops of water falls on the man and his leprosy also gets healed.
Story of Two Sisters
While eating Sattu (Teej's special sweet-dish) with the leaves of Neem on Teej, one of two sisters used to say, "Neem is bitter". Another used to say, "Neem is sweet". The way they said, so the words of their toungue became. People found one sweet and other sister bitter in their behavior and disliked her. One day, an elderly revealed the mystery behind it. After that, both sisters started to say that Neem is sweet and so people started to percieve their behavior — sweet.Place of Kajari Teejs Events: Where is Kajari Teej Celebrated?
Teej festivals are loved among Hindu females and celebrated with great zeal and excitement. So in the entire world, wheresoever the traditional Hindus live, the religious females try to observe the Teej-related rituals. Many hold Kajari Teej fast too; those who don't, just worship and follow the other rituals only.
In India, Teej is famous in Northern states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Interesting Facts and Figures about Kajari Teej
Teej Among Other Hindu Festivals
In comparison to other Hindu Festivals such as Diwali, Rakhi, and Holi, Teej is considered a lesser important festival. Yet those females who follow its traditions and rituals, they celebrate it with great enthusiasm.
Only Females Please!
Although it is celebrated for the wellfare of the family — especially the husbands — yet they do not participate in the celebration actively. They neither involve in the worship of Neem nor mark their presence during the other rituals. It makes Teej different than other festive occassions.
