Karwa Chauth: Veeravati and the False Moon

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Dharma Katha · Season 4: The Road to Diwali · Episode 136 Seven brothers, and one sister. That is how the story always begins. Her name is Veeravati. She is the youngest, and the only girl, and her brothers adore her. When she was small, they carried her on their shoulders. They brought her sweets from the market. They would not eat until she had eaten. Now she is grown, and married, and this year, for her first Karwa Chauth, she has come back to her parents' home. And since before sunrise, she has not eaten a single bite, or drunk a single drop of water. She is fasting for her husband's long life, and she will not break her fast until she sees the moon. Missed the previous story? Listen to Episode 135 first. Source note. Label: tradition. The Veeravati story is the most widely told Karwa Chauth vrat katha in North India; its details, such as how the false moon was made, what happened at each bite, whether the husband died or fell ill, and whether Indrani or Parvati appeared, vary from family to family and printed version to version. The customs of sargi, the karva, the evening gathering, the sieve and the moon are living tradition, and vary by region. Savitri's story is in the Mahabharata, Vana Parva, told in this series in episodes twenty-five to twenty-seven. Draupadi keeping the fast on Krishna's advice is a tradition of the vrat-katha books. The date, October 29, 2026, is from published almanacs; moonrise times differ by city. The reflections are my own. Note: this episode is narrated with an AI voice and the script was written with AI assistance. Sanskrit verses are checked against published editions; corrections are welcome.