Karwa and the Crocodile — Кассета

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 137 A man is bathing in a river at dawn. The water is brown and slow. And something under the water closes on his leg. A crocodile. He screams. And his wife, who is on the bank, does not scream. She runs into the water. And she does something that makes no sense at all. She takes a thread, an ordinary, raw cotton thread, and she ties up the crocodile with it. And the crocodile cannot move. Missed the previous story? Listen to Episode 136 first. Source note. Label: tradition. The story of Karwa, who bound a crocodile with a raw cotton thread and compelled Yama to protect her husband, is a Karwa Chauth vrat katha, told in several versions; details such as her occupation and the river vary, and it is not found in the epics or major Puranas. The prayer to Karwa Mata is common household practice. Yama's appearances in Savitri's and Nachiketa's stories were told in Season One, episodes nineteen to twenty-seven. 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.