Ahoi Ashtami is celebrated today, i.e. Thursday, October 24, 2024, with the Ahoi Ashtami Tithi starting at 05:00 PM on October 23, 2024 and ending at 06:24 PM on October 24, 2024. On this day, mothers observe a day-long fast for the well-being and long lives of their children. The Ahoi Ashtami vrat is broken only after sighting the stars in the evening.
Ahoi Ashtami Vrat Katha
The vrat kaths of Ahoi Ashtami revolves around a mother who accidentally killed a baby cub while digging soil in the forest. Overcome with guilt, she began fasting and praying to Goddess Ahoi Mata, seeking forgiveness. Pleased with her devotion, Ahoi Mata blessed her with the well-being of her sons. This tale is recited by mothers during the puja, symbolizing the importance of repentance and devotion.
Ahoi Ashtami Puja Vidhi
The Ahoi Ashtami Puja is performed in the evening, generally after spotting the stars.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for performing the puja:
- Preparation: Clean the puja area and create a sacred space for the ritual. Traditionally, a drawing or an idol of Ahoi Mata is placed on the wall or a platform.
- Offerings: Place a kalash (pot filled with water), diya (lamp), roli (vermilion), chawal (rice), and flowers before Ahoi Mata. Women often keep a thread with seven knots tied to signify the children.
- Prayer: Mothers offer prayers to Ahoi Mata for their children's well-being, recite the Ahoi Ashtami Vrat Katha, and offer sweets, grains, and fruits.
- Fasting: Women observing the fast usually refrain from consuming food or water throughout the day, breaking the fast after sighting the stars.
- Star Sighting Ritual: Once the stars appear in the sky, women break their fast by offering water and prayers to the stars, seeking blessings for their children.
- Mothers wake up early to take a bath and begin their fast.
- Ahoi Mata’s puja is performed during the evening, typically after 4:30 PM.
- Some women break their fast after seeing the moon, while others wait until stars are
visible. - Women decorate their homes with rangoli and create an image of Ahoi Mata using natural colors or soil.
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