As per the tradition, women on this third day of dark half of the lunar calendar in the fifth month of Nepali calendar, Bhadra, observe day-long fasting wishing a prosperous life.[break
The Teej festival is also celebrated as Haritalika. All Hindu Nepali women offer prayers and worships at Pashupatinath temple and other temples of Lord Shiva.
According to a religious scripture of the Hindus, this festival got the name Haritalika Teej’as it was on this very day in the golden epoch of truth that the daughter of the Himalayas, Parvati, was hidden by her maids because of her refusal to marry Lord Vishnu for her desire to marry Lord Shiva.
A day before Teej on the night of the second day of the fortnight, women enjoy a variety of delicious dishes known as Dar at their parental home where they are especially invited for this purpose.
The women on the day of Teej are seen engrossed in jubilant dancing and singing in a care-free mood.
Women put on bangles, necklaces made of glass beads and vermillion powder which are considered the symbols of good luck and dress themselves up in red saris or other red outfits and adorn themselves with different kinds of ornaments.
Women in the morning take ritual baths and offer worship while in the evening they pay homage to Lord Shiva, light lamps and spend the night awake.
The next day, the last day of the festival is marked by the women performing religious and traditional rituals such as use of 108 stems of a kind of holy plant while bathing with soil. They also worship the holy seven sages and offer alms, thus completing the fast.
Both married and unmarried women worship Lord Shiva and observe fasting, praying for fulfillment of their wish for a happy and prosperous conjugal life.
As per the tradition, married women celebrate this festival wishing long life for their husbands while the unmarried women who worship Lord Shiva and Parvati are believed to find an eligible groom.
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