Ahoi Ashtami 2024: Date, Vrat Katha, Puja Vidhi & Significance

Ahoi Ashtami 2024 is widely celebrated across the country. Women observe fasting on this auspicious day for the well-being of their children. The Hindu calendar says this occasion comes on the eighth day of Krishna paksha of Kartik month and usually in October or November, according to the Gregorian calendar.

On Ahoi Ashtami, devotees celebrate the festival dedicated to Goddess Ahoi, also known as Mata Ahoi. Mothers pray to the Goddess for their children’s health and longevity. Due to Ahoi Ashtami, fasting comes on Ashtami tithi, the 8th day of the lunar tithi, considered as Ahoi Aathe. The day is also initiated as the beginning of Diwali.

The occasion keeps immense devotional and religious importance, performed with devotion and traditional practices. The article will highlight the date, vrat katha, puja vidhi, and significance of Ahoi Ashtami 2024.

Date & Time of Ahoi Ashtami 2024

The festival of Ahoi Ashtami 2024 will be celebrated on Thursday, 24th October. Below are the muhurat details to perform the puja:

Ahoi Ashtami 2024 – Thursday, October 24, 2024
Ahoi Ashtami Puja Muhurat – 05:42 PM to 06:59 PM
Duration – 01 Hour 17 Mins
Govardhana Radha Kunda Snan – Thursday, October 24, 2024
Sanjh (evening) time for sighting Stars – 06:06 PM
Moonrise on Ahoi Ashtami – 11:55 PM
Ashtami Tithi Begins – 01:18 AM on Oct 24, 2024
Ashtami Tithi Ends – 01:58 AM on Oct 25, 2024

Significance of Ahoi Ashtami 2024

Women blessed with sons wake up early in the morning, keep a water earthen pot, and please the Goddess Ahoi, who is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. They keep fasting, present prayers and bhogs to goddess Ahoi, and break the fast after seeing the stars. Ahoi ashtami vrath katha is recited before the bhog.

To be blessed with a healthy child, women who have had losses or difficulties conceiving can do the Ahoi Ashtami puja. Ahoi Ashtami 2024 is considered ‘Krishnaashtami’ after Bhagwat Krishna. Thus, the day is special for childless couples.

‘Radha Kunda’ in the district of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, is where Married couples without a child take a holy bath. The couple must keep the fast of Ahoi Ashtami along with prayers and rituals to seek the blessings of having a child.

Legend of Ahoi Ashtami

The legend says that King Chandrabhan’s children died at a very young age. The king and his better half performed severe penance. Thus, they left everything behind and moved to the forest. They saw a pond over there near Badrika Ashram. Seven days later, they received a prophecy that they were suffering due to the sins done in their past lives.

It was advised that they observe the Ahoi Ashtami fast to ensure the longevity of their children. Therefore, King Chandrabhan and his spouse observed the fast. Honour the devotion; goddess Ahoi blesses the couple with children.

She suggested and reassured her to pray to Ahoi Ashtami Bhagwati by illustrating the cub’s face. They prayed to goddesses and observed the Ahoi puja fast. By the mercy of the goddess, the couple brought their son back to life.

This is also called Ahoi Aathe, as fasting for Ahoi Ashtami is performed on Ashtami tithi, which is considered the 8th day of the lunar month.

Puja Items for Ahoi Ashtami

To observe the Ahoi Ashtami puja, specific puja materials are required to complete the puja:

1. Ahoi Mata’s image: Whether drawing or idol of Goddess on the wall or framed/printed.
2. Kalash: Filled small brass or copper pot with water and coconut over it.
3. Coconut: Covered with red cloth and kept atop the Kalash.
4. Roli (red vermilion powder): Apply a tilak on the forehead and the image of Goddess Ahoi.
5. Akshat (unbroken rice): Offer the goddess.
6. Flowers: Mostly marigold, to present to Ahoi Mata.
7. Fruits: Bananas, pomegranates, and other seasonal fruits are required.
8. Sweets: Classic sweets like kheer, puris, and other delicacies, especially those that children love.
9. Incense Sticks (Agarbatti) and Camphor: These are used to cleanse the surroundings during puja.
10. Diya (Lamp): To offer the goddess and to lighten the environment.
11. Thread: To tie a red or yellow sacred thread during puja.
12. Ahoi Ashtami Katha book: To narrate the story during Ahoi puja vrat.

Ahoi Ashtami Puja Vidhi

Ahoi Ashtami festival is celebrated for the son’s longevity, is observed by mothers, and is celebrated during the Krishna paksha of Kartik month. The fast is opposite to Karwa Chauth, which is aimed at spouse longevity.

The festival has profound significance in the Northern part of India, where women fast from dawn to dusk, breaking the fast only after seeing a glimpse of the stars.

Let’s dive into the deeper details of Ahoi Ashtami rituals, including required puja materials.

1. Morning Rituals and Arrangements

The first thing to do before performing the ritual is to clean the house and puja place; this is very important to keep the puja area clean and hygienic. We should pay particular attention to managing the purity of the atmosphere.

Women observe fasting starting early in the morning, abstaining from food and water until the evening when the mothers see the stars.

2. Designing or Placing the idol of Goddess Ahoi

The important part of puja is to put or draw the idol of Goddess Ahoi on a wall using a printed or framed image. Her two sons or small kids usually worship Goddess Ahoi.

Place a puja thali containing the puja materials required for the ritual in front of the idol.

3. Puja Ritual

The devotees set out a little Kalash (pot) filled with water in the puja area. Top with a coconut and embellish with a crimson fabric and thread.

Present her with Rice, Roli (kumkum), Flowers (particularly marigold), and raw milk. Additionally, you can serve homemade treats like puris, kheer (rice pudding), and other sweets.

Certain fruits, such as pomegranates and bananas, as well as cereals, like wheat, are available.

People recite the Ahoi Ashtami Katha, also known as the narrative of Ahoi Mata. This tale tells of a woman’s dedication. After she accidentally hurt a baby animal and pleaded for pardon, Ahoi Mata blessed her. Her heartfelt regret and fast pleased the Goddess, who blessed her with kids.

4. Evening Rituals and Fast-Breaking

The fast-breaking ritual of Ahoi Ashtami is entirely different from Karwa Chauth, where women wait to see the moon. Ahoi Ashtami’s fast broke only after seeing the stars. However, in some places, women wait for the moonrise.

The ritual is completed by giving arghya in the direction of the stars when they are seen. Women can now open the fast by having food and water after completing the rituals with devotion and care.

Ahoi Ashtami Vrat Katha

Those who fast on puja days chant the vrat katha for Ahoi Ashtami. Thus, if you are considering observing a fast on the day of the ritual, this will help you. Ensure you read the Ahoi Ashtami vrat katha to plan your tradition better!

As per the Ahoi asthami vrat katha, once there was a moneylender who lived in a city. He has seven sons. The family was once busy wiping the house just before seven days of Diwali puja.

The moneylender’s wife went to a nearby open-pit mine to collect mud for their house repair. Later, the moneylender’s wife starts searching for mud without knowing that an elephant has already created a den in the mine. Her hoe hit an elephant cub, instantly killing it.

This made the moneylender’s wife very upset. Heartbroken, she returned to her home. The hedgehog mother’s curse caused the death of her eldest son a few days later and then her second and third sons. All seven of the woman’s sons died within a year.

After losing all of her children, the widow started leading a very gloomy life. One day, sobbing, she told an old neighbour her sad story, confessing that the cub had been unintentionally killed and that her seven boys had died because of the sin she had not meant to do.

After learning this, the older woman comforted her by stating that her repentance had compensated for half of her transgressions.

How were Women Blessed with Children Again?

The women also advised that, on the day of Mata Ahoi Ashtami, honouring her by drawing a picture of the hedgehog and its cub and seeking forgiveness for her act, she would be free from her sins. The moneylender’s wife is also considered to perform the ritual to free herself from her sins.

As the story goes, the women followed the older women’s sayings and pleased Goddess Ahoi. She began observing a fast on the eighth day of Krishna paksha in the Kartik month regularly every year, and over time, she was blessed with seven sons. Hence, the ritual of Ahoi Ashtami started that day, and now it is practised by many women in North India for the well-being of their children.

Ahoi states the meaning of making the untoward happening, or ‘Anhoni ko honi banana,’ as the wife of the moneylender did in the tale. Any woman who keeps fasting on Ahoi Ashtami will be blessed with a child by Mata.

Do’s and Don’ts of Ahoi Asthami Vrat

For every Hindu ritual, there are some do’s and don’ts specified to follow the guidelines:

• Bypass sleeping on the day of vrat.
• Don’t stitch anything on Ahoi Ashtami.
• On this day, people avoid black, blue, or white colours.
• Make only sattvic food to offer, like bhog prasad.
• Bypass to consume garlic and ginger as they are tamasic foods.
• You can use brass, bronze, silver, and gold utensils while performing puja rituals.
• You can use an earthen pot made of clay like a Karwa while performing the puja.
• Ideally, parents should perform the puja along with their children.
• Women must wear a silver garland that depicts Syau Mata for the puja.
• Keep some money near the Goddess as a Dakshina, along with sweets and grains.
• Grazing the cows should happen after completing all the rituals.

Conclusion

That’s all! Ahoi Ashtami 2024 continues to be a celebrated nationwide festival for mothers, combining devotion, cultural identity, and customs. Its traditions boost maternal love and the enduring relationship between parents and their children.

Like families celebrating Ahoi Ashtami 2024, the occasion is still not only a Hindu tradition observance but even a sign of hope, protection, and divine grace.

Keeping fast, offering prayer to the mother Goddess, and pleasing her, women reaffirm their bond to Ahoi mata, seeking her blessings to be sure that their children will grow up happy, blessed, healthy, and protected from any negativity.

Therefore, the festival holds a special place in Hinduism and is a timeless reminder of the values of devotion, sacrifice, and the force of belief in ensuring the well-being of future generations.