Hal Shashthi 2021: From Cleaning Teeth With Datun to Not Consuming Cow’s Milk, Things to Know About Randhan Chhath

Randhan Chhath or Hal Shashthi will be observed on 28 August 2021, Saturday. It falls one day prior to the Sheetala Satam day and is considered the preparation day for Sheetala Satam Vrat in Gujarati Shravan month. It is the sixth day in Vad paksha or bahula paksh of Shravan month.

There are many interesting things about Randhan Chhath that people are unaware of. It is believed that Goddess Sheetala visits the kitchen and curses if food is cooked on Satam day. Therefore, people prepare the food for Satam day one day before, i.e., Randhan Chhath day.  Why Is Leftover Food the Previous Eaten on This Occasion?

After cooking the food on Randhan Chhath day, the stove is then cleaned and coated with little cow dung. The stove is then worshipped with sindoor and a Swastik symbol is drawn.

The women fasting on this day clean their teeth with Datun or Mahua. The fast is observed with some specific rules.

On Randhan Chhath day, people in Gujarat worship Goddess Sheetala, whereas in northern parts of the country this day is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Balaram, Lord Krishna’s elder brother.

The women who fast on this day, refrain from consuming cow’s milk or curd. Instead, they use buffalo’s milk, ghee and curd. During the puja, devotees use curd, rice and mahua. Mahua is an Indian tree that has edible fleshy flowers and yields oil rich seeds.

Devotees worship Lord Balaram’s weapon ‘Hal’ or the plough. This day is also known as Hal Chhath, Hal Chat and Hal Shashti.

Indian festivals are full of different traditions and colours. Each festival has a different history and significance and is celebrated in a very unique way. Randhan Chhath is one of such festivals and is known with many other names like Hal Shashti, Hal Chhath etc. All these festivals fall on different dates every year as the date is decided as per the Hindu calendar and not the Gregorian calendar. We, at Latestly, wish you all a happy Randhan Chhathh 2021!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 27, 2021 01:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).