Mothers observe ‘Jitiya Vrat’ for the longevity and prosperity of their children, know 2 mythological stories related to this special fast

The ‘Jivitputrika’ (Jitiya Vrat 2024) fast, which is kept for the happiness, prosperity and long life of the children, holds great importance in Sanatan Dharma. This year this fast will be observed on Wednesday, September 25 in various states including North India. Jitiya Vrat is observed by mothers for the long life, prosperity and advanced life of their children. It is believed that by keeping this fast, the children get happiness and prosperity. Do you know when and how Jitiya Vrat started? Let us know the mythological beliefs and stories related to this fast-

The first story of Jitiya Vrat

According to mythological beliefs, Ashwatthama was very angry after his father’s death in the Mahabharata war. To avenge his father’s death, he went to the Pandavas’ camp and killed five people. He thought that he had killed the Pandavas but the Pandavas were alive. When the Pandavas came in front of him, he came to know that he had killed the five sons of Draupadi. ​​Seeing all this, Arjuna, in anger, captured Ashwatthama and snatched the divine gem.

To take revenge for this, Ashwatthama planned to kill the child growing in the womb of Abhimanyu’s wife Uttara. He used Brahmastra to kill the child growing in the womb, which destroyed Uttara’s womb.

But it was very important for that child to be born. Therefore, Lord Krishna brought Uttara’s dead child back to life. Due to dying in the womb and then coming back to life, Uttara’s son was named Jeevitputrika and Parikshit. Since then, Jitiya Vrat started being observed for the long life of the child.

Story of the second Jitiya fast

According to the legend of Jitiya, once an eagle and a female fox lived in the Himalayan forest near the Narmada River. Both of them saw some women worshipping and fasting and wished to do the same. During the fast, the fox got very hungry and went and secretly ate a dead animal.

On the other hand, the eagle followed the fast with full dedication and completed it. In the next birth, both of them were born as humans. The eagle had many sons and all of them survived. But the jackal’s sons used to die. In revenge, the eagle tried to kill the eagle’s child many times but was unsuccessful. Later, the eagle told the jackal about the Jitiya fast of his previous birth. With this fast, the jackal also got the happiness of having children. In this way, this fast became famous in the world for getting the happiness of children.