The simplest vrat, with one firm rule
Santoshi Mata is the goddess of contentment, and her vrat is deliberately humble: no costly samagri, only jaggery and roasted chickpeas, a lamp, her katha and a mind that asks for enough. It is kept on Fridays, usually for sixteen Fridays in a row, and completed with an udyapan. Its one strict rule is that nothing sour is eaten, cooked or served in the house on the vrat day.
Before you begin
- Start on the Friday of a Shukla Paksha (the bright fortnight) if you can.
- Decide how many Fridays you will keep, usually sixteen, and make that your sankalpa on the first Friday.
- If a Friday is missed because of travel, illness or menstruation, simply continue the next Friday; that Friday is not counted.
What you will need
- A picture of Santoshi Mata
- A kalash of water with mango leaves, and a small bowl of jaggery and roasted chickpeas (gud-chana) placed on or beside it
- Roli, akshat, flowers and a garland
- A ghee lamp and incense
- The Santoshi Mata vrat katha (in any printed booklet)
The Friday puja, step by step
- Prepare. Rise early, bathe, wear clean clothes, and clean the puja place.
- Set up. Place her picture on a clean cloth. Set the kalash in front with the bowl of gud-chana.
- Ganesh first. Bow to Ganesha, her father in tradition.
- Sankalpa. On the first Friday, holding water, akshat and a flower, resolve to keep the vrat for the number of Fridays you have chosen, and state your wish. On later Fridays, simply recall it.
- Offer. Roli, akshat, flowers and the garland, then show the lamp and incense.
- Dhyana mantra. Recite the Santoshi Mata mantra, "Om Shri Santoshi Mahamaya Gajanandam Dayini...", picturing her seated on a lotus.
- Katha. Read or listen to the vrat katha, holding a little gud-chana in your hand.
- Chalisa and aarti. Read the Santoshi Mata Chalisa and sing Jai Santoshi Mata.
- Prasad. Share the gud-chana from your hand and the bowl as prasad. Pour the kalash water on a plant or sprinkle it around the house.
- Food. Eat one simple meal during the day, with nothing sour in it.
The rule of no sour food
On a vrat Friday, avoid anything khatta: curd, buttermilk, lemon, tamarind, pickles, tomatoes cooked sour, amchur and sour fruit. The rule applies to the whole household that day, and the prasad should not be given to anyone who has eaten something sour. The vrat katha turns on exactly this point: at the heroine's udyapan, her jealous relatives get the boys to ask for something sour, and her troubles return until she keeps the vrat again with care.
The udyapan
After the last Friday, the vrat is completed with an udyapan on the following Friday:
- Do the usual puja, katha, chalisa and aarti.
- Feed eight boys a meal of puri, kheer, chana and halwa, with nothing sour in it.
- Give them a small gift such as fruit or a book; tradition says not to give cash, so that they do not buy something sour with it.
- Thank the Mother and ask forgiveness for any lapse.
Frequently asked questions
How many Fridays is the Santoshi Mata vrat kept?
Usually sixteen, followed by an udyapan. Some devotees keep it for a different number they have vowed, or until their wish is fulfilled.
What happens if I eat something sour by mistake?
Ask the Mother's forgiveness sincerely. Many devotees do not count that Friday and keep one extra at the end.
Can men keep the Santoshi Mata vrat?
Yes. It is kept mostly by women, but nothing in the vrat excludes men, and many families keep it together.
Why gud and chana?
Because they are the simplest food there is, and the goddess of contentment is content with them. Her own aarti says that jaggery and chickpeas are dearest to her, and that is how she got her name.
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