Teej

The tradition & historical record

Teej (Sanskrit: तीज, meaning "third") is a collective term for three Hindu festivals dedicated to the goddess Parvati and her consort Shiva. It is mainly celebrated by married women and unmarried girls, to pray for the long life of their husband or future husband and to welcome the arrival of the monsoon through singing, swinging, dancing, joyous celebration, pūjā, and often fasting. Tīja collectively refers to three festivals: Haryālī Tīja, Kajari Tīja, and Hartālikā Tīja. Haryālī Tīja (lit. 'green Tīja'), also known as Sindhārā Tīja, Chhoṭī Tīja, Śrāvaṇa Tīja, or Sāvana Tīja, falls on the third day after the new moon in the month of Śrāvaṇa. It marks the day when Śiva consented to Pārvatī’s wish to marry him. Women visit their parental homes, prepare swings, and celebrate with song and dance. Kajari Tīja (lit. 'dark Tīja'), also known as Baṛī Tīja, is celebrated 15 days after Haryālī Tīja during the dark (waning) phase of the moon. Hartālikā Tīja (from Harat meaning "abduction" and Ālikā meaning "female friend") falls one lunar month after Haryālī Tīja on the third day after the new moon in the month of Bhādrapada. It commemorates the occasion when Pārvatī encouraged her friends to abduct her to avoid marriage with Viṣṇu, which her father Himālaya had arranged. Married women observe nirjala vrata (a fast without water) on this day for the well-being of their husbands. ¹

Teej refers to the third day that falls every month after the new moon (amavasya), and the third day after the full moon night of every lunar month. According to Kumar (1988), Kajari Teej and Hartalika Teej fall in Bhadrapada. The festivals celebrate the bounty of nature, arrival of clouds and rain, greenery and birds with social activity, rituals, and customs. The festivals for women, include dancing, singing, getting together with friends and telling stories, dressing up with henna-coloured hands and feet, wearing red, green or orange clothes, sharing festive foods, and playing under trees on swings on Haryali Teej. The monsoon festival in Rajasthan is dedicated to Parvati. ¹

Haryali Teej (lit. Green Teej) is celebrated on the third day after the new moon in the month of Shraavana/Sawan (of the Hindu calendar). As Shraavana falls during the monsoon or rainy season when the surroundings become green, the Shraavana Teej is also called Hariyali Teej. The Hariyali Teej festival is also celebrated to remember the day when Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife. Parvati fasted and was austere for many years and was accepted by Shiva as his wife in her 108th birth. Parvati is also known as Teej mata (lit. Teej mother). ¹

On Teej married daughters receive the gifts by her mother such clothes, bangles, bindi, mehandi, etc. Ghevar, a special sweet, are given to them on this day. These gifts are known as Sindhara. According to Bhatnager (1988), Sindhara is derived from the Sanskrit word sringar which means "decoration of women and their charming beauty". ¹

Haryali Teej is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and Rajasthan. The festival is also celebrated in Chandigarh. ¹

Chandigarh administration makes special arrangements for Teej celebration in the Rock Garden in the city. School children present plays and other cultural programs on this day. The female members of the family, especially daughters, are given gifts and dresses. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Teej”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Teej is Hindu festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²