Today is Jyeshta Gauri Pooja/Vrata
The Jyeshta Gauri Temple is located at Sapt Sagar Mohalla near Maidagin, Varanasi. It is one among the nine sacred Gauri temples of Kashi. Jyeshta Gauri is sometimes identified with Mahalakshmi in certain regions of India.
It is believed that if an unfortunate girl visits the Jyeshta Gauri Temple and prays with devotion, she will be blessed with good fortune (Sowbhagyavati). Those who visit Kashi and have darshan of Jyeshta Gauri are said to attain prosperity, honor, and success in life.
According to the Kashi Khand, Jyeshtha Gauri is the divine elder form of Goddess Parvati and is regarded as the elder sister of Goddess Lakshmi. She blesses devotees by removing misfortune and transforming poverty into prosperity. Lord Shiva himself proclaimed that worshipping Jyeshtha Gauri in Kashi, especially on Jyeshtha Shukla Ashtami, brings extraordinary blessings—unfortunate women become sowbhagyavati (endowed with good fortune), families flourish with wealth and harmony, and devotees rise to positions of respect and honor.
In some traditions, this vrat is also connected to Goddess Mahalakshmi. Legend states that once the gods were tormented by demons. Answering their prayers, Goddess Mahalakshmi appeared on Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami and destroyed the demons, thereby restoring peace to the heavens. To commemorate this victory and to seek the protection and well-being of their husbands, women began observing the Jyeshtha Gauri Vrat on this auspicious day.
The Jyeshta Gauri Puja is a popular vrat performed during the Bhadrapada month, especially in North Karnataka and Maharashtra. It falls on the day of the Jyestha Nakshatra and is also known as Jyeshta Gauri Vrata.
•The three-day vrat is mainly observed by married women, who perform the Haldi-Kumkum ceremony as a mark of devotion and sisterhood.
•Women pray to Goddess Gauri (Parvati) for marital happiness, protection, and prosperity.
•Unmarried girls worship Devi Parvati to find a suitable life partner.
•The vrat signifies the victory of Goddess Shakti and the blessings she bestows upon her devotees.
The vrat is observed for three days:
1. Avahan / Sthapana – Invocation and installation of Jyeshtha Gauri idol.
2. Puja – Worship with offerings, prayers, and recitation of the Vrat Katha.
3. Udwasan / Visarjan – Concluding rituals followed by immersion of the idol in a water body.
The Vrat Katha, narrating the Goddess’s victory over demons, is recited on the second day.
