WHAT: BADI TEEJ

WHEN: Bhadrapad/ Bhadon (August/ September)

Badi Teej is celebrated on the third day of the Krishna Paksh in the month of Bhadon. This is also referred to as Satudi Teej or Kajjali Teej. This is a very important festival for Maheshwari community. Married women observe this fast for the long life of their husband and unmarried girls observe this fast to get a good husband. This fast should be observed lifelong or otherwise for a minimum of 16 years. Unmarried girls should start keeping this fast at least four years before their marriage. In case you do not keep good health, you could ask Brahmini to keep the fast for you.

HOW: Preparations for the puja

• Sattu and pindaas are made the previous day
• A small branch of neem tree, soil and leaves from the Aakde ki shrub
• Roli, chawal, abhir, gulal, haldi powder, moli, mehendi, cucumber, lemon, jaggery, flowers, paan leaves, sabut supari, agarbathi, deepak, camphor, matchsticks, some money for offering
• Unboiled milk in a katori, small kalash with water
• Small plates to keep the sattu and pata
• Small red cloth with zari in the size of a handkerchief with gota around it for Neemadi ka Odna, zari blouse piece
• Put a swing on a tree in the house (not compulsory)

Morning Puja

• In the morning in one plate keep four small laddoos made out of sattu and some money and in the second plate keep small pindaas made for Brahmini, a zari blouse piece and some money. Now do the kalpana and give the first plate to the mother-in-law and seek her blessings, second to the Brahmini. In case the mother-in-law is not present there, then send her kalpana to the temple.

Doing the Kalpana

• In your right palm put a little roli, chawal and pour a little water. Rotate your right palm around the kalpana plates leaving a little water. After the rotation pour the remaining water in front of the plate.

Evening Puja

• Dress up wearing a chunri saree or a yellow saree with red border, jewellery and a nose ring with a pearl.
• Swing on a swing 7 times either in your house or in a garden (not compulsory).
• In the evening around 4 o’ clock, the branch of neem tree is planted with the help of mud in the centre of the pata or a large thali or against the wall facing east. Around this a rim of mud referred to as paal is made.
• While doing the puja, water and unboiled milk is poured on the branch of the neem referred as Neemadi, paal and the space in the centre between the neem branch and paal.
• Make a Ganeshji by wrapping red moli thread on a whole puja supari, place the Ganeshji on the betel leaf and put this on the puja pata. Place the kalash and deepak on pata.
• Light the deepak and agarbathi.
• Now do the puja first of Ganeshji, then of kalash, then of deepak, then of Prithvi Mata, then of Neemadi Mata and paal by offering roli, moli, flowers, chawal, abhir, gulal, haldi powder and jaggery.
• Odna is put around the Neemadi Mata and lemon, cucumber and sattu are offered.
• In the water which is in the centre of the neem branch and the paal, you must see the reflec- tion of neem leaf, deepak, gota of the odna, pearl of the nath you are wearing, sattu, lemon and cucumber. While seeing each item chant “Neemadi mein (name of the item) dikha, dikha so hi tute”. Tute means to get. Whatever is seen in the reflection, you get that throughout the year.
• Listen / read the katha of the festival with aankha in your hands. Aankha is little sattu and few rice grains.
• Sing the songs of Neemadi Mata.

Giving arag/arak to the moon

• After sighting the moon with the water of the kalash along with the aankha, arag is offered to the moon.
• Puja is done by offering moli, kumkum, roli, chawal and little sattu. After this, standing at the same place, one does four parikrama. We touch the water offered to the moon from the floor and touch it to our eyes for good luck.
• While offering arag, chant “Sone ki sankali, motiyon ka haar chandra ne arag deta jeevo veer bhartar”
• Touch the feet of the elders seeking their blessings.

Sattu Paasana

• Put pindaa in the thali and ask your husband to sit next to you. He cuts the pindaa with the knife and gives you a small piece seven times to eat. This is referred as paasana. If the husband is out of station, mother-in-law or sister-in-law can also do the paasana.
• Now make a cone from the leaf of the aakde ki shrub and drink unboiled milk 7 times. Again make a cone from the leaf of the aakde ki shrub and drink water 7 times. Everytime whoever makes you drink the milk asks Dhaaya which means are you content having drunk the milk and you have to answer “Doodh se dhaayi, suhaag se koni dhaayi” which means I am content with the milk but I have still more desire for spending time with my husband. In the same way, every time whoever makes you drink water asks Dhaaya which means are you content having drunk water and you have to reply “Paani se dhaayi suhaag se koni dhaayi” which means I am content having drunk the water but I still have more desire for spending time with my husband.
• Take a leaf of the neem branch before doing this puja. Now make 7 small pieces of the neem leaf and then make 7 small morsels each having a piece of neem leaf and your paasa pindaa. Now first eat the seven morsels, then the cucumber, lemon and the fruits. Afterwards if you feel like you can have more of your paasa pindaa. Some people do not have hot food this day and only have milk, curds and fruits. If you cannot observe the fast atleast do not have any cereal till the time you do the puja in the night. Some people after giving arag to moon have sattu prasad seven times and only after this have their meal.

Neemadi Ka Geet

Udiyaarpur soon maaruji beej mangaay

Maarju neemadlee bavaa dayo baalu rait me jee mehararaaj Maakhaniyaari maaruji jaal baandhyaay

Maaruji neemadlee sinchaaydyo ji kaache doodh soon jee mehara raaj Vagi neemadlee ghare ghumare

Maaruji ugatadi joog moyo aaleej ree neemdee jee mehara raaj Koi mati todo neemadlee ra paan

neemadlee ree daalya hindolo ghalaay

maarujee dholyo ne maaruni donyu hinda hindaryaji mehara raaj abakee avland dhola jethesa ne bhej

maaruji abaki teeja ne donu pindo paasyaji mehara raaj

Then, three kathas of the festival of Badi Teej are read along with:

• Bindaayakji/Ganeshji ki katha
• Panthvari Mata ki Katha
• Lapsi Tapsi ki katha

Katha of Badi Teej - 1

There was a Sahukaar who had seven sons. On the festival day of Satudi Teej, when his eldest daughter-in-law was doing puja of the neem tree, her husband expired. The second son got married and similarly he also expired on the day of Satudi teej. Likewise all the elder six sons expired.

When the seventh son got married, his wife told her mother-in-law that instead of doing puja of the neem tree, I will plant a small branch of the neem tree and do its puja.

She performed the puja of the branch of the neem tree and while performing the puja, all the elder six sons came back to life. Then she called all her six elder co-sisters and asked them to do puja of the neem tree and cut the pindaas. All the elder co-sisters said how could they cut the pindaas as their husbands were not there. The youngest daughter-in-law told them their husbands are alive now. Everyone heard the katha and did paasna of the pindaas and announced in the village that no one should do puja of the neem tree but should do puja of the branch of the neem tree.

Neemadi Mata, as you have blessed the Sahukaar’s sons and his daughters-in-law so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha and all those who are following the katha along with their families.

Katha of Badi Teej - 2

There was a woman whose husband was afflicted with leprosy. The husband used to go to a prostitute everyday by climbing on his wife’s shoulders and come back the same way.

The festival of Badi Teej came. That day also the woman left her husband at the prostitute’s house. On her way home as she crossed a river she heard a voice coming out of the river. There was a neem tree on the corner of the river and a cone made from the leaf of the aakde tree was floating in the river. A voice from the river said “Aavatdi jaavatdi dono ghol pivatdi, jyo peeve thaaro peey ghar base” meaning ‘Oh woman ! who is coming and going, drink water from the cone made from the leaf of the aakde tree. This will ensure your husband to stay in the house with you’.

She did not pay attention and came home and started doing preparations for paasna of the sattu. Meanwhile again her husband come back and asked her to open the door of the house. As she opened the door, her husband asked her to drop him back to the prostitute’s house. While returning back home, again the voice from the river said the same thing but she did not pay any attention. But again as she sat down to do the paasna of sattu, her husband came home and asked her to drop him back to the prostitute’s house.

All this happened seven times. Finally, she did as the voice from the river had asked her to do. As she was doing the paasna of the sattu, again her husband’s voice came asking her to open the door. When she got up and opened the door, she found that her husband’s body was perfectly fit. He was no more afflicted with leprosy. Further whatever money, clothes and jewellery he had given to the prostitute he had brought them back for her.

Her husband told her that he will never again go back to the prostitute. Then the woman did the puja of the Neemadi, drank water and unboiled milk seven times from the cone made of leaf of the aakda tree and then did paasna of the sattu.

Teej Mata, as you blessed the woman and cured her husband, so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha, and all those who are following the katha along with their families.

“Aadhi ne pure kare deo puri parvaan chade” – Neemadi Mata, if the katha is incomplete, please complete it. I offer this katha to you.

Katha of Badi Teej - 3

There was a Sahukaar who had seven sons and seven daughters-in-law. The parents of the youngest daughter-in-law were very poor. On the festival of Satudi teej, the parents of the six elder daughters-in-law sent lots of gifts. The father of the youngest daughter-in-law had no money even to make pindaa so he hid in the shop where he was working. After the shop got closed, he took some split chana daal and started grinding it in the chakki. Listening to the noise coming out of the shop, the neighbours informed the shopkeeper and the police. The police, thinking the youngest daughter-in-law’s father to be a thief, were about to take him to the police station, when the shopkeeper arrived. The shopkeeper inquired the reason for the theft. The father told him that he was not trying to steal anything but just making the pindaa to send it to the daughter’s house. The kind-hearted shopkeeper told him that from this day onwards, your daughter is like my daughter. Along with the pindaas, he sent lots of gifts to the daughter’s house. On receiving so many gifts and pindaas from the youngest daughter-in-law’s house the mother-in-law told everyone that although the youngest daughter-in-law’s family is very poor, they have sent the maximum gifts and pindaas. She told her daughters-in-laws that it is not compulsory to get the pindaa and gifts from parents’ house, instead pindaa can be made in the house.

Neemadi Mata, as you blessed the Sahukaar’s daughters-in-law, so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha, those who are following the katha along with their families.

Three kathas of the festival of Badi Teej are read along with Bindaayakji/Ganeshji ki katha 

A few grains of moth/baajra are kept in the hand while listening to the katha. After completion of the katha, they are left in the water of the kalash, kept for puja.

Bindaayakji (Shri Ganesh) ki Katha (1)

There was a blind old woman who had a son and a daughter-in-law. The old woman used to worship Ganeshji everyday and everytime Ganeshji would encourage her to seek a boon. Every day she would say “I don’t know how to ask” and Ganeshji would respond “Take advice from your son and daughter-in-law”. The old woman asked her son as to what she should ask from Ganeshji. The son advised her to ask for lots of wealth. Not satisfied with this, she went to her daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law requested her to ask for a grandson. Still not satisfied, she went to her neighbour. The neighbour told her that she should request Ganeshji for good health. The old woman was still not completely satisfied. She wanted to please everyone. Next day Ganeshji again told her to ask for a boon. The old woman said, “I should be able to see my grandson drinking milk from a cup made of gold”. Ganeshji said, “You are a very wise woman. In one wish you have asked for everything.” Saying this Ganeshji disappeared, and the old woman got wealth for her son, a child for her daughter-in-law and eye-sight and good health for herself.

Bindaayakji, as you have blessed the old woman, so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha and the followers of the katha along with their families.

Bindaayakji (Shri Ganesh) ki Katha (2)

A young boy had a fight with his family and left his home saying he will return only after meeting Ganeshji. As the boy reached a dense forest, Ganeshji thought to himself that the boy has left home taking his name, so no wild animal should harm him. Ganeshji took the form of an old Brahmin and went to the boy. He asked the boy as to where he was going. The boy replied that he was going to meet Ganeshji. The Brahmin told the boy that he was Ganeshji and told him to ask for one boon. The boy thought for a while and then said, “I would like to have lots of wealth and sumptuous food served to me by a girl who is as beautiful as a rose flower”. Ganeshji said, “You will get whatever you have desired”. On reaching home, to his delight, the boy found a beautiful young girl in a palatial home waiting for him with sumptuous food. The boy told his parents that he got all this wealth with the blessings of Ganeshji.

Bindaayakji , as you blessed the boy, so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha and the followers of the katha along with their families.

Bindaayakji (Shri Ganesh) ki Katha (3)

Bindaayakji, in the guise of a man, went around with a few grains of rice and a spoonful of milk requesting one and all to make kheer for him. Everyone laughed at him and said it was not possible to make kheer with such little quantity. Finally one old woman agreed to make the kheer. She got a very small vessel to cook. Bindaayakji asked her to bring a large vessel. The old woman got a big kadhai. As soon as she put the kadhai on fire and poured the spoonful of milk with rice in it, the kadhai became full. Bindaayakji told the old woman to make kheer and keep it ready till he came back.

The kheer was ready but there was no sign of Bindaayakji. The old woman got tempted to eat the kheer. She took out a bowlfull of kheer, cooled it. She hid behind the door, saying, “Jai Bindaayakji” offered it as prasad to Bindaayakji and ate it. When Bindaayakji came back, the old woman offered the kheer to Him. Bindaayakji said that He had already eaten the kheer when she had offered it to Him as prasad. Bindaayakji blessed the old woman with lots of wealth that would last her for her seven generations.

Bindaayakji, as you have blessed the old woman, so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha and the followers of the katha along with their families.

Panthvari Mata Ki Katha

There were two men who were taking their bullock carts to the market to sell their ware.

One of them was very proud. His cart was full of expensive items like diamonds, pearls, almonds, coconut and mishri. On the way he met Panthvari Mata disguised as an old woman. When the old woman asked for assistance to cross the road he was very rude to her and on her inquiry as to what he was carrying in the cart, he replied that he had stones and bricks. The old woman said, ‘Tumhari asha jaisi mansha, Ram iccha puri karna’ meaning as you wish so will you get from God.

The second man was very gentle by nature. He was carrying stones and bricks in his cart. He helped Panthvari Mata in disquise of the old woman on the way and when she inquired as to what was in his cart, he replied that he had diamonds, pearls, coconut, almond and mishri. The old woman again said, ‘Asha jaisi mansha, Ram iccha puri karna’.

When both the men unloaded their carts in the market place, they were very surprised by the contents. The first man’s cart had stones and bricks instead of his expensive items while the second man’s stones and bricks had turned to riches. The first man started fighting with the second one saying that by trick he has exchanged the carts. Lots of people gathered. One wise man asked if they had met anyone on the way. They narrated the story of meeting the old woman. The people in the market place advised them to go back to the old woman for justice.

Panthvari Mata, in the disguise of the old woman told them, in the morning whatever you spoke happened, so as a practise never lie in the morning. The first man was very apologetic. He made a temple of Panthvari Mata. She blessed him and he got his wealth back.

Panthvari Mata, path ki dhirani, (owner of the roads) as you blessed the cart merchant so also bless the narrator of the katha, the listeners of the katha, the followers of the katha along with their families.

From that day onwards after listening to the katha of the festivals, people listen to the katha of Panthvari Mata.

Lapsi Tapsi ki katha

Lapsi Tapsi Ki Katha

There were two men Lapsi and Tapsi who used to live on the banks of the river Yamuna. Tapsi used to pray day all long and Lapsi used to make 1-1/4 kg Lapsi, offer it as prasad to the God, ring the bell and drink it.

One day both of them had an argument as to who was a bigger devotee and a better person. Naradji happened to be passing by. They asked Naradji to resolve their disagreement. Naradji said that as he was in a hurry, he would come the next day. While going he dropped two rings costing 1.25 crores purposely.

Tapsi saw the ring and hid it under his knees. He thought with the money he will get from selling the ring, he will do a big havan and yagna and will become a greater devotee than Lapsi.

Lapsi also found the ring. He thought some one might slit his throat for this expensive jewellery, so he threw the ring away, made his Lapsi and after offering to the God drank it.

Next day when Naradji came both of them asked him to decide as to who was greater.

Naradji asked Tapsi as to what was under his knees. As Tapsi lifted his knees, the ring was found. Naradji said, “Even though you do lots of puja this act was not proper. Because of this, your tapasya had become tainted therefore Lapsi was greater than him”.

Tapsi asked Naradji as to how he could overcome his wrong doing and get the just end of his puja. Naradji said, “When women will have a holy dip in the month of Karthik, then they will give you the punya and your kalank will be removed”. Tapsi asked as to how will he get the benefit and punya of his tapasya. Naradji said,

• If a person will give saree without blouse piece, you will get the benefit
• If a person will give dhoti without towel, you will get the benefit
• If a person gives seedha to the Brahmin and not the dakshina, you will get the benefit
• If a person will not follow the katha while listening to it, you will get the benefit.

Saying this Naradji left.

God give the benefit of the Tap to Tapsi and the benefit of our katha to us.

From that day onwards after listening to the katha of the festivals, people listen to the katha of Lapsi and Tapsi.

After listening to all the stories, chant this:

Aasa baadi Aasa baadi jyame baithe kanyakuvaar Kanyakuvaari kaayeen maang, ann maang, dhann maang, laabh maang, lakshmi maang

Bichudaan melo maang, baanjan putr maang, bhai ko daan, bhojayi ko maan Shri krishn bhagwan ki badi maang, vaikunt ka vaas maang

Chandan chowki jadaav ko haar Shri krishn bhagwan jeev ko adhaar