Hartalika Teej 2020: Check out the puja vidhi, muhurat and importance of the festival

The auspicious occasion of Hartalika Teej will be celebrated on August 21. Hartalika Teej is celebrated in a grand manner in states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The festival is dedicated to Goddess Parvati, who is Lord Shiva's wife. She is also known as Maa Hartalika. Married women pray to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for the long life of their husbands. 

There are various types of Teej celebrated in the country, such as - Haryali Teej, Kajri Teej and Hartalika Teej.

Check out the Puja timings:
Pratahkala Hartalika Puja Muhurat: 5:53 am to 8:29 am
Pradoshkala Hartalika Puja Muhurat: 6:54 pm to 9:06 pm
Tritiya Tithi Begins - 2:13 am on August 21, 2020
Tritiya Tithi Ends - 11.02 pm on August 21, 2020
(As per drikpanchang.com)

The word Hartalika, is derived from the words Harit and Aalika. The term Harit means abduction and Aalika means a female friend. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Parvati’s father, Himalaya had fixed her marriage with Lord Vishnu. But Partvati did not wish to marry him as she had performed tapasaya on the banks of river Ganga to have Shiva as her husband.

After the abduction, she performed penance in a Jungle and immersed herself in Shiva Bhakti for many years. Lord Shiva was impressed by her dedication and appeared before her in his divine form and also agreed to marry her.

On this day, women dressed in bright new clothes pray to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. They observe a fast (also known as nishivasar nirjala vrat) which commences during the evening of Hartalika Teej and is broken the next day after a full day's observance which involves women not even drinking water.

The devotees pray to Mata Parvati who prayed to get married to Lord Shiva. The goddess is worshipped under the name of Hartalika or Maa Hartalika.