Kajari Teej, also called Badi Teej or Satudi Teej, comes about two weeks after Hariyali Teej and a few days after Raksha Bandhan, in the heart of the rains. It is kept mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Kajari, or kajri, is a form of folk song that women sing at this time of year about the dark clouds, the absent beloved and the longing of the monsoon. The song form is one of the features of the festival and gives it its name.
Month and tithi
Kajari Teej is the Krishna Tritiya, the third day of the dark fortnight, that follows Shravana Purnima. Here the two systems of naming months differ: calendars that end the month at the full Moon (purnimanta, used in north India) call this fortnight Bhadrapada, while those that end the month at the new Moon (amanta) call it Shravana. The festival is the same day either way, as explained in the amanta and purnimanta guide. The Tritiya page describes the tithi.
What the festival is about
The day is dedicated to Goddess Parvati and, in many homes, to Shiva as well. Married women fast for their husbands’ long life and wellbeing, and unmarried women fast hoping for a good husband. The tradition links the festival to the same story of Parvati’s penance that stands behind the other Teej days. The details are told differently across regions.
In Rajasthan, in the town of Bundi, the festival is a major public occasion with a procession of decorated elephants, camels and an image of the goddess. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar the day is kept with songs, swings and family gatherings. In some places a neem tree or a neem branch is worshipped, and the women break their fast after the moon rises, offering water to the Moon before eating. Sattu, a flour of roasted barley and gram, is the traditional food of the day, which is why the festival is also called Satudi Teej.
How the day is fixed
The rule used here follows Drik Panchang: the festival is on the civil day on which Krishna Tritiya is in force at sunrise. If the tithi is in force at sunrise on two days, the first is taken. The table gives the date for each city with the times at which the tithi begins and ends.
Why cities differ
The tithi begins and ends at one instant for the whole world, but sunrise is at a different time in each city. A Tritiya that ends a few minutes before sunrise in one city may still be running at sunrise in another, and the festival then falls a day apart. A city in Australia or North America can differ from India in the same year. For a place that is not in the table, the any-city tool gives the dates.
Related days
Kajari Teej is the second of the three Teej festivals. The first is Hariyali Teej, in the bright fortnight of Shravana, and the third is Hartalika Teej, in the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada. The dark fortnight also holds Sankashti Chaturthi, a monthly vrat that ends with moonrise.
A calm note
A fast is a personal choice. If it does not suit your health, fruit and milk, or a meal without grain, keeps the day, and no one should feel that a lighter fast counts for less. The songs and the gathering matter as much as the fast. Follow your family and community for the day.