Gowri Habba

Gowri Habba is a Hindu festival celebrated a day before Ganesh Chaturthi in Karnataka. This festival celebrates the goddess Gowri or Gauri, (also known as Parvati) who is venerated as the mother of Ganesha. It is usually observed by married women and is a significant festival in Karnataka. It is known as Hartalika in the North Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Gowri, the mother of Ganesha and wife of Shiva, is worshipped throughout India for her ability to bestow upon her devotees courage and power. Hindu belief has it that Gowri is the incarnation of Aadhi Shakthi Mahamaya. She is the Shakthi of Shiva. It is believed that on Thadige, or the third day of the month of Bhaadra, Gowri comes home like any married woman comes to her parents' house. The next day Ganesha, her son, comes as if to take her back to Kailasa. The Swarna Gowri vratha is performed on the occasion to appease the goddess. On this day, married women, after bathing, wear new or smart clothes and dress up the girls of the family. Then they do the 'sthapana' of either jalagauri or arishinadagauri (a symbolic of Gowri made of turmeric). Painted and decorated clay idols of Gowri can be bought at the local market. The goddess' idol is mounted in a plate, with a cereal (rice or wheat) in it. As this puja or ritual is to be performed with 'suchi' (cleanliness) and 'shraddhe' (dedication), the women go to temples or to another person's house, where it is performed according to set procedures or they can perform the ritual in their own homes. A mantapa, generally decorated with banana stem and mango leaves, is built around the idol. The Gowri is decorated with garlands, decorations made of cotton, and women have a 'gauridaara' (sacred thread with sixteen knots) tied to their right wrists, as blessings of gauri and as part of the vratha. Each of the sixteen knots is worshipped with mantras during the performance of the religious practice. An offering of baagina occurs during the festival.