Teej (Women'sWish -Making Day)

 The third ay of the bright fortnight ofBhadra (Aug.--Sept.) is Popularly known as Teej or Haritalika which is a big day of celebration for the Nepalese' women. This is the day, Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayas is said to have won the heart of Lord Shiva by dint of her deep devotion and made Him accept her as wife  with great pleasure. There is a very interesting story about it.

 Parvatraj, the great king of the Himalayas once decided to give his daughter, Parvati in marriage to Lord Vishnu though he very well knew that his daughter was in deep love with Lord Shiva. Necessary arrangements were made for the wedding to take place the.next day. Poor Parvati was terribly upset. So, she decided to run away from tragedy. She asked her female attendants to work out an escape plan secretly. Soon after the night fell, her good girl friends stealthily took forest, where Lord Shiva used to live. her away to a nearby  imilleuiatety put herself Into deep penance of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva became very much pleased with her but He still wanted to see if she really had true love for Him. So Lord Shiva with a view to test her love appeared in the form of most attractive Vishnu and started speaking ill of Shiva in the ugliest possible words, but ail was in vain. Parvati was unshaken in her determination. Lord Shiva saw that He could not go any further, presented Himself in His real form and said, "I can see that you have won my heart. So, I am happy eno accept you as my wife."

 It is said that Parvati was extremely pleased with girl friends, who helped her in her great hours of need and she  sent for them and celebrated a big get-together and enjoyed themselves. The Sanskrit term Haritalika itself has a very interesting meaning to offer within the context of this story. 

 Haritalika is a combination of two different words which means to be taken away by one's girl friends. It must be remembered here that Teej or Haritalika is also regarded as a big day for women meeting their female friends and have a happy get-together. It is quite interesting to note that women on this particular day usually go in sizeable groups singing the festival songs on their way to the temples. In addition to this, the interesting custom of sending nicely prepared foods by women to their bosom friends and relatives on this particular day also seems to remind one of the warm feelings and love Parvati had for her good girl friends.

 One of the very important aspects of this festival is the fasting in the name of Lord Shiva. According to the Bhavishettar Purana, those who take fasting on this day are sure to gain good grace of God. Particularly the unmarried Hindu girls are advised to take fasting on this day and worship Lord Shiva and His most beloved wife Parvati with sincere faith and devotion. It is said that the girls who follow the Shastric advice are sure to secure the husbands they wished for. This is one of the reasons why on this day Nepalese women all dressed up in their best attire go round the Shiva temples. The most attractive temple for all kinds of ceremonial activities on this day is the Pashupati Nath Temple situated on the banks of the holy river Bagmati about two miles east of the Kathmandu city.

 Another interesting aspect of this festival is feeding of one-self with piecemeals on the proceeding day for fasting. It is quite remarkable that on the following day the fasting women spend most of their time singing and going round the temples without any noticeable sign of fatigue.

 The second day of the festival is the day for breaking the fasting. It comes with the beginning of another ceremonial worship of Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed God of good luck. Worshipping Lord Ganesh on this day is believed to ensure the success for all the best wishes the fasting women made on the previous day.