Gangaur Teej

The festival of Gangaur Teej is celebrated on the third day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Chaitra. This year, it falls on Saturday, March 21. During this festival, Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva are primarily worshipped. To please them, certain rituals and offerings are recommended:

1. According to the Devi Bhagavatam, bathing Goddess Parvati with mango or sugarcane juice ensures that Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati never leave the devotee’s home, bringing wealth and knowledge.
2. As per the Shiv Purana, worshipping Lord Shiva with red and white flowers grants both worldly pleasures and liberation.
3. Offering ghee to Goddess Parvati and donating it helps relieve suffering and brings good health.
4. Offering sugar to Goddess Parvati and donating it grants long life. Offering milk removes all sorrows, while offering malpua (a sweet dish) eliminates problems.
5. Offering jasmine flowers to Lord Shiva brings comfort in travel and vehicles. Worshipping with flax flowers makes one dear to Lord Vishnu.
6. Worshipping Lord Shiva with Shami leaves grants liberation. Offering Bela flowers blesses one with a virtuous wife. Worshipping with Datura flowers grants worthy sons. Red-stemmed Datura is considered especially auspicious.
7. Pouring sugarcane juice over Lord Shiva grants all joys. Offering Ganga water brings both worldly pleasures and liberation.
8. According to the Devi Bhagavatam, bathing Goddess Parvati with camphor, agarwood, saffron, musk, and lotus water while reciting the Vedas destroys sins and brings success with little effort.
9. Worshipping Lord Shiva with Juhi flowers ensures food abundance at home. Offering Durva grass increases longevity. Worshipping with Harsingar flowers enhances wealth and prosperity.
10. Offering bananas to Goddess Parvati and donating them brings peace in the family. Offering honey brings wealth, while offering jaggery removes poverty.
11. Offering rice to Lord Shiva brings wealth, while sesame seeds destroy sins.
12. Bathing Goddess Parvati with grape juice ensures her blessings remain with devotees.
13. Offering Jow to Lord Shiva increases happiness, while wheat offerings bless with children.
14. According to the Devi Bhagavatam, offering coconuts to Goddess Parvati and donating them brings prosperity. Offering various grains and donating them to the poor grants joy and abundance in both this world and the next.
15. Bathing Goddess Parvati with milk makes the devotee master of all kinds of happiness and prosperity.