Karvā Cauth — the moonrise fast
Kārtika Kṛṣṇa Caturthī (Āśvina in amānta) · October–November
Karvā Cauth is a fast kept mainly by married women in North and North-West India — Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh — for the long life and well-being of their husbands, and by many unmarried women for a good match. Its name comes from the karvā, a small clay pot with a spout, and cauth, the fourth lunar day. The fast runs from sunrise until the moon rises, and the moon is worshipped before it is broken.
The day begins before dawn with sargī — a meal of fruit, sweets, dry fruit and pheṇiyā sent by the mother-in-law. Then the fast begins; traditionally it is nirjala (without water), but anyone who is pregnant, unwell or on medication should drink water and eat fruit — a vrata is kept with love, not at the cost of health. In the evening, women dress up, often in red, with mehendī and bangles, and gather to worship Gaurī (Pārvatī) with Śiva, Gaṇeśa and Kārtikeya, passing thālīs around in a circle while the vrata-kathā is told. At moonrise, they look at the moon — often through a sieve — offer water to it from the karvā, then look at their husband's face, and he gives the first sip of water and bite of food.
Today many husbands fast alongside their wives, and the day has become a warm family festival. In the South and West, similar fasts for married life include Vaṭa Sāvitrī and Hartālikā Tīj.
Tradition tells of Vīravatī, the only sister of seven loving brothers, who kept her first Karvā Cauth fast at her parents' home. As evening came she grew faint with hunger and thirst. Unable to bear it, her brothers lit a fire behind a hill and held up a sieve so that its glow looked like the rising moon. She broke her fast — and soon word came that her husband had fallen gravely ill. Grieving, she kept the fast faithfully through the year with deep devotion, and by the grace of Pārvatī her husband was restored. The story is told every year as the women sit together before moonrise.
Gaurī · Śiva · Gaṇeśa · the Moon · Sunrise-to-moonrise fast; sargī · Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Delhi · Karaka-caturthī — Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra V