How a Vow Is Kept

A vrata typically combines several elements: abstention, whether a complete fast, a restriction to a single meal, or the avoidance of particular foods; heightened purity and worship of the deity to whom the vow is directed; and often the hearing or reciting of the vrata katha, the story that explains the vow's origin and power and models its reward. The fast is broken at the prescribed time, sometimes after the sighting of the moon or the completion of the day's worship. Some vratas are one-off undertakings for a specific need; others are kept year after year on the same calendar day.

Well-known examples include the Ekadashi fasts of the eleventh lunar day sacred to Vishnu, the Karva Chauth fast kept by married women in the north for their husbands' longevity, the Monday fasts for Shiva, and the many vows attached to particular festivals and deities. Across this variety the vrata expresses a characteristic feature of Hindu devotion: the voluntary taking-on of discipline as an offering, in confidence that the deity honours the vow faithfully kept.