18/09/2025
Jitiya Vraat
O' Baryar, O' ariyar
Today is jiutia. My mother is also fasting(Nirjala: no food no water) Spontaneously from some corner of the mind erupts a folk-voice, which is sunny in desj smell and which has a sense of authority more than insistence—
'Yeh ariyar, ka Baryar
King Ramachandra ji,
Devendra a Chhotu ke Mai jiutia bhukhal Barin...’(Bhojpuri)
This is not a simple message, it is a witness to the asceticism of a mother who wants to make every consciousness of the universe her Messenger. Who is this’ ariar ' dogged Messenger? It could be purvaya Pawan, a bird of the sky or the affection of the son himself who is reaching his adoration by becoming a wave. This is the easy faith of the people who believe that when the information of Mother's nirjala fast reaches the king of Ayodhya, the law will change, the pace of Kaal will stop.
The vow of jivitaputrika is the peak of the feminine-Hatha yoga. This is not a simple fast, it is' Nirjala ' tapas. Not even a drop of water falls under the throat. It is the process of drying the body, accumulating prana-energy and transforming it into an impenetrable armor, which wraps around the armor son and protects him from every ailment, every crisis. This fast is not just one day, but a whole legislation. From' Nahay-Khay 'to' Paran', there is a folk belief echoed at every stage. The bread of Marwa (ragi) eaten in Sarghi and the saag of noni is not just a means of filling the stomach, but an offering of the Earth from which the mother is asking for a share of longevity for her offspring.
At the core of this fast is the wonderful Legend of Prince jimutvahana. That Gandharva Kumara, who presented himself to be the diet of Garuda to protect a son of the Nag-dynasty. When the mother observes a fast for her son, she carries in herself the consciousness of the 'gemutavahana', not just for her part, which should also self-deny for the 'great-son'. This story elevates this vow from personal Vatsalya to the ground of Universal Compassion. When a mother is hungry, she is not just the mother of 'Devendra' or 'Chhotu', she becomes a symbol of perfect motherhood at that moment, who for the sake of her child makes herself stable like a rock and bright like The Sun.
The spirit of this vow dwells in its folk side. The Legend of the Eagle and Ciarin is the desaj philosophy of this vow. On the one hand is the patience, restraint and motherhood of the Eagle, who renounced the avarice of the piece of meat and whose sons survived. Ciarín, on the other hand, has impatience and avarice, which led to his children not being spared. This legend teaches the folk-mind that motherhood is not just the process of giving birth, but the cultivation of patience, sacrifice and sobriety. This fast is a means to transfer that folk-knowledge to every generation. On the puddles of the village, on the river ghats, when the women gather and listen to the story, they form a collective resolution. Their collective consciousness creates a Raksha-Chakra, which even Kaal is reluctant to pe*****te.
What is this vow ultimately? This is a Eternal yagna performed by the mother for her child, in which her body is the 'future' and her breath is the 'mantra'. She begs the boon of 'Amrit' for the son by offering her hunger and thirst. The sharpness you see in his jaded body is the sharpness of some divine power. She is not the mother at that moment, she is the 'power' herself. Then the gullible mind of the people arises, go and tell Ramchandra Ji, a mother is sitting in asceticism for her sons. This information reaches that primordial consciousness and the particle of creation becomes a witness to that asceticism. This Starving of mother is the greatest celebration of creation, because on the foundation of this hunger, life multiplies and generations move forward.
