Ahoi Ashtami is a Hindu festival celebrated by mothers for their children. It is celebrated four days after Karva Chauth and eight days before Diwali. This year this festival is being celebrated on Thursday, 28 October 2021. It falls in the month of Kartik according to the Purnimanta calendar, while it falls in the month of Ashwin according to the Amanta calendar followed in South India. It differs only by the names of the months, although Ahoi Ashtami falls on the same day. Ahoi Ashtami is similar to Karva Chauth as women do not consume food and water throughout the day. The fast is broken after seeing the stars in the sky. Ahoi Ashtami is also called ‘Ahoi Eight’ as the fasting occurs on the eighth day of the month.
A variety of traditional food is prepared for the Ahoi Puja rituals. Ahoi Puja is performed in the evening and mothers break their fast after seeing the stars in the sky. Devotees place the picture of Ahoi Mata/Ahoi Bhagwati on the wall and worship the mother by offering her as Prasad.
Worship Time
Ahoi Ashtami Puja Muhurta: 05:39 PM to 06:56 PM
Govardhan Radha Kund Snan Thursday, October 28, 2021
Evening time to watch the stars – 06:03
Worship Vidhi On the day of Ahoi Ashtami, women paint a picture of Ahoi Mata on ocher, as well as a picture of Sheh and his seven sons. Then fill a urn with water and keep it at the place of worship. Then worship Ahoi Mata with rice and roli and offer sweet poori or flour pudding. Women also listen to the story of Ahio Mata with seven grains of wheat in hand. After the stars are out, women break the fast by offering Arghya.
Ahoi Ashtami Fasting story
Once upon a time there lived a moneylender in a town. He had a full family. He had 7 sons, a daughter and 7 daughters-in-law. A few days before Diwali, her daughter went with her sisters-in-law to get clean soil from the forest to paint the house. While taking out the soil in the forest, a child of ink died from the scabbard. Saddened by this incident, Syahu’s mother cursed the moneylender’s daughter to never become a mother. Due to the effect of that curse, the moneylender’s daughter’s womb was tied.
The moneylender’s daughter was saddened by the curse. He told the sisters-in-law that any one of them should tie his womb. Hearing the words of her sister-in-law, the youngest sister-in-law got ready. Due to the ill-effects of that curse, his child lived only for seven days. Whenever she gave birth to a child, she would die within seven days. She got upset and met a Pandit and asked the remedy.
On the advice of the pundit, he started serving the surhi cow. Pleased with his service, the cow takes him to Syahu’s mother one day. On the way, Garuda is about to kill the bird, but the moneylender’s younger daughter-in-law kills the snake and gives life to the bird. By then the mother of that Garuda bird comes. She is impressed by him after hearing the whole incident and takes him to Syahu’s mother.
When Syahu’s mother hears about the philanthropy and service of the moneylender’s younger daughter-in-law, she is pleased. Then blesses her to be the mother of seven children. With the effect of blessings, the moneylender’s younger daughter-in-law has seven sons, from which she has seven daughters-in-law. His family is big and full. She leads a happy life.
Ahoi Ashtami fasting story must be heard after worshiping Ahoi Mata.