Somvati Amavasya in the Year 2023 will be Celebrated on Monday, 20th February 2023
Amavasya of any month which falls on Monday is called Somvati Amavasya. It is especially known for the Tarpan of ancestors. Person observing fast on this day should sit under the Peepal tree and chant the Shani mantra on this day.
Baths and donations performed on Somvati Amavasya have a special significance. Staying Maun (silent) is very fruitful on this day. According to Dev Rishi Vyas, staying Maun and performing baths and donations give virtues similar to donating a thousand cows.
Additionally, the person observing fast revolves 108 times around the Peepal tree and offers Puja to Lord Vishnu and the tree. This fast is mainly observed by women. After this, donations are made according to their capabilities. At the ocation of Somvati Amavasya, thousands of people could be seen having a dip in Haridwar.
Having a dip in Brahma Sarovar of Kurukshetra gives auspicious fruits to a person on this day. This gives inexhaustible fruits. From sunrise to sunset, a crowd of people can be seen bathing in the holy river. The echo of the sacred verse is spread in all directions. Performing these works fulfills all wishes of an individual.
Women who observing the fast of Somvati Amavasya should hear the fast story.
A moneylender had seven sons and one daughter. He married off all his sons. But, the daughter was yet not married. A monk used to come every day to his house and asked for alms. In return, he gave blessings to them. He used to bless the daughter-in-law with a happy married life but he never gave the blessing of marriage to the daughter of the house.
Once the daughter told this thing to her mother. Mother felt sad and the next day, she asked the monk about this. Sadhu gave no answer and went away. Seeing this, the mother got worried.
Mother immediately called the Pandit and asked him to see the Kundali of her daughter. He said that the girl’s destiny is to become a widow. The mother got upset and asked for a remedy. He said the girl to go the island Singhal, where lived a washerwomen. The girl needed to ask for the Sindoor from that lady and wear it on her forehead. Moreover, by observing the fast of Somvati Amavasya, the inauspicious Yoga can be removed.
Hearing this, the mother requested the sons to go with her daughter. Only the youngest son agreed to go. Both of them left and reached the seashore. They started thinking, how to cross it. They sat under a tree on which a vulture had a nest.
Whenever female vulture gave birth to a child, a snake used to eat him up. That day, vulture and his wife were out when a snake came and their children started shouting. The daughter of the moneylender understood and killed the snake with her courage. When vulture and his wife returned, they became happy seeing their children alive and helped the girl to go to the house of washerwomen.
The girl secretly served the washerwomen for many months. The lady was pleased and applied Sindoor on her forehead. Then, the girl left for her home without drinking water. On the way, she revolved around a Peepal tree and then, she drank water. She worshipped the Pipal tree and observed the fast of Somvati Amavasya. This way her inauspicious Yogas were canceled and she became fortunate.
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सोमवती अमावस्या का पर्व विशेषकर महिलाएँ मनाती है। इस पर्व में स्नान-दान का बड़ा महत्व् है। इस दिन मौन रहकर स्नान करने से हजार गौदान का फल प्राप्त होता है।
सोमवती अमावस्या के दिन पीपल और भगवान विष्णु का पूजन तथा उनकी 108 प्रदक्षिणा करने का विधान है। 108 में से 8 प्रदक्षिणा पीपल के वृक्ष को कच्चा सूत लपेटते हुए की जाती हैं। प्रदक्षिणा करते समय 108 फल अलग रखे जाते है। बाद में वे भगवान का भजन करने वाले ब्राह्मणों या ब्राह्मणियों में प्रसाद स्वरुप वितरित कर दिये जाते है।
ऐसा करने से संतान चिरंजीवी होती है। इस दिन तुलसी की 108 परिक्रमा करने से दरिद्रता मिटती है। सोमवती अमावस्या, रविवारी सप्तमी, मंगलवारी चतुर्थी, बुधवारी अष्टमी – ये चार तिथियाँ सूर्य ग्रहण के बराबर पुण्य फल देने वाली कही गयी हैं। इनमें किया गया स्नान, दान, जप व श्राद्ध अक्षय होता है।
