Devpodhi Agiyaras is the eleventh day of the bright half of Ashadh, when Vishnu lies down to sleep for four months and Chaturmas begins. Weddings stop until Dev Uthi Agiyaras in Kartak. In Gujarat the day also opens Gauri Vrat, or Molakat: for five days girls of five and upward eat no salt, tend a pot of sprouting wheat, and pray to Parvati for a good husband. Married women keep the similar Jaya Parvati Vrat.
The story
The story behind the vows is of Parvati, who won Shiva by austerity. The sprouts, called jawara, stand for growth and fertility, and are worshipped each morning with a necklace of cotton wool.
The Rath Yatra of Ahmedabad has just passed: on Ashadhi Bij, nine days earlier, Jagannath's chariots were pulled through the old city, and the Kutchi people marked their new year.
How it is kept
- Agiyaras fastNo grain; farali food or fruit.
- JawaraWheat sown in a small pot some days before is watered and worshipped.
- AlunuThe girls' food for five days has no salt: wheat, milk, ghee and fruit.
- JagranOn the last night the girls stay awake, playing games and singing, and break the fast next morning.
- ChaturmasVows of the four months are taken; Jain monks and nuns stop travelling.
Why this date
Devpodhi Agiyaras is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashadh, on the day it is present at sunrise, placed so that the fast is broken during Baras.
Devpodhi Agiyaras in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday | |
| 2027 | Wednesday | |
| 2028 | Sunday | |
| 2029 | Saturday | |
| 2030 | Thursday | |
| 2031 | Tuesday |
More Gujarati festivals
18 JulyGuru Purnimaગુરુ પૂર્ણિમા
17 AugustRaksha Bandhanરક્ષાબંધન
8 MayAkha Trijઅખાત્રીજ
20 AprilHanuman Jayantiહનુમાન જયંતી
15 AprilRam Navamiરામ નવમી
24 AugustJanmashtamiજન્માષ્ટમી
Where to see Devpodhi Agiyaras
In Gujarat
- Jagannath Temple, AhmedabadGujaratThe home of the country's second largest Rath Yatra.
- DakorGujaratRanchhodraiji's temple, crowded on every Agiyaras.
- ShamlajiGujaratAn old Vishnu temple in the Aravalli foothills.
Across India
- PandharpurMaharashtraAshadhi Ekadashi and the arrival of the Wari.
- PuriOdishaThe gods in gold on their chariots.
- NathdwaraRajasthanShrinathji, the Krishna of the Gujarati Vaishnavas.