Maa Santoshi Vrat katha
There was an old woman who had seven sons. Six of them were earning and one was not earning. The old woman would cook good food for all the six and feed them with great love but would feed the seventh one with leftovers. But he was innocent and hence did not think anything in his mind. One day he said to his wife – See how much my mother loves me? She said she feeds you everyone's leftovers, still you say this, if you want you can see it when the time comes.
One day a big festival came. The old lady prepared seven types of food and churma laddoos. To check this, the seventh boy pretended to have a headache and went to sleep covering himself with a thin cloth and started watching. The mother made them sit on very nice mats and served them seven types of food and laddoos. She was feeding them with great love. When they got up at night, the mother collected the leftovers from their plates and made a laddoos from them. Then she said to the seventh boy, “Hey, eat roti.” He said, “Mother, I will not eat food, I am going abroad.” The mother said, “If you are going tomorrow, then go today itself.” He left the house. While leaving, he remembered his wife who was beating cow dung cakes in the cowshed. He said, “We are going abroad, we will come back after some time. You live happily, follow your religion.”
His wife said this
Go happily my love, remove our thoughts.
We remain dependent on Ram, may God help you.
Give me your sign, let me keep my patience.
Don't forget me, keep your mind serious.
On this the boy said – ‘I have nothing. Take this ring and give me a token of yours.' She said what do I have? This is a hand full of dung. Saying this she slapped his back with her hand full of dung. The boy walked away. It is said that this is the reason why in marriage the wife slaps her husband's back.
While travelling he reached a far off country. He went to a merchant's shop and said ‘brother, please hire me.' The merchant needed a servant. So he said he will pay the salary after seeing the work. You stay here. He started working from 7 in the morning till 12 in the night. In a few days he started doing all the transactions and accounting. 7-8 servants of the merchant started working for him. In two-three months the merchant made him a partner in half the profits. In twelve years he became a famous merchant and his master left the work in his trust and went somewhere else.
On the other hand, his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law started troubling his wife a lot. They would send her to the forest to get wood. They would give her rotis made of straw and water in a broken coconut. She lived her life with great difficulty. One day, when she was going to get wood, she saw many women fasting on the way. She asked – ‘Sisters, whose fast is this, how is it done and what is the result of it?' Then a woman said – ‘This is the fast of Santoshi Mata. By observing it, one gets the desired result. It destroys poverty, worries of the mind, court cases, quarrels, diseases and one gets children, happiness, wealth, joy, peace, a groom of one's choice and one gets to see the husband who has gone out.' She told her the method of fasting.
She sold all the wood on the way and bought jaggery and gram. She prepared to fast. She saw a temple in front and asked ‘Whose temple is this?' They said ‘This is Santoshi Mata's temple.' She went to the temple and started rolling at the feet of the mother. She started pleading sadly ‘Mother! I am ignorant. I am very sad. I am in your refuge. Remove my sorrow.' The mother took pity. One Friday she received a letter from her husband and the next Friday she received the money sent by her husband. Now the brother-in-law, sister-in-law and mother-in-law started saying with disdain ‘Now you will increase your respect for her, she will not even speak if called.'
She said, ‘Everyone is happy if letters and money come.' Tears rolled down her eyes. She went to the temple and fell at the feet of the mother and said, ‘O mother! When did I ask you for money? I want my husband. I just want to see and serve my husband.' Then the mother said happily, ‘Go daughter, your husband will come.' She went home very happily and started doing household chores. On the other hand, Santoshi Mata reminded her husband in his dream about going home and his wife. He said, ‘Mother, how can I go, it is a matter of a foreign land, there is no account of transactions.' The mother said, ‘Listen to me, take a bath in the morning, light a ghee lamp in my name, bow down and sit at the shop. All the transactions will be cleared in no time. There will be a pile of money.
In the morning, when he told everyone about his dream, everyone started making fun of him. They started saying that dreams do come true. But an old man said, “Brother! What is the fear in doing as the mother has said?” He took a bath, lit a ghee lamp to bow down to the mother and went and sat at the shop. In a short time, all the transactions were completed, all the goods were sold and there was a pile of money. He was happy and started buying jewelry and other things for the house. He left for home soon.
On the other hand, his poor wife used to go to collect woods and serve Santoshi Mata daily. She asked Mata – O Maa! Why is this dust flying? Mata said, your husband is coming. Make three bundles of wood. Keep one on the bank of the river, keep one here and keep the third on your head. Your husband will get attracted to that bundle of wood. When he stops here and goes home after having breakfast, then you pick up the wood and go home and put the bundle in the middle of the courtyard and call out loudly three times, “Mother-in-law! Take the bundle of wood, give me roti made of straw and water in a coconut shell. Who is the guest today?” She touched Mata’s feet and did everything as she said.
She took the third bundle and went home and putting it in the kitchen started saying, “Mother-in-law! Take the bundle of wood, give me rotis made of straw, give me water in a coconut shell, who is the guest today?” Hearing this, the mother-in-law came out and started saying deceitfully to make her forget the troubles she had given, “Daughter! Your husband has come. Come, eat sweet rice and food and wear jewellery and clothes.” Hearing such words from his mother, her husband came out and seeing the ring in his wife's hand, he became anxious. He asked, “Who is she?” The mother said, “She is your daughter-in-law, it has been twelve years now, she roams around the whole day, does not work, she throws tantrums on seeing you.” He said, “Okay. I have seen you and her, now give me the key of the other house, I will live in that house.”
Mother said, ‘Okay, as you wish.' And she threw the bunch of keys. She kept her luggage in the room on the third floor. In a single day they became as luxurious as a king. Then the next Friday came. The daughter-in-law said to her husband – I have to do the Udyapan of Santoshi Mata's fast. He said, very good, do it happily. Soon she started preparing for the Udyapan. She asked the sons of her brother-in-law to eat. They agreed. Behind her back, the sisters-in-law instructed their children, ‘You ask for sour things so that the Udyapan is not completed.' The boys ate and asked for sour things. The daughter-in-law said, ‘Brother, sour things will not be given to anyone. This is Santoshi Mata's Prasad.' The boys stood up and said, bring money. The innocent girl could not understand what their secret was. She gave the money and they ordered tamarind sour things and started eating. Santoshi Mata got angry at her. The king's messengers caught her husband and took him away. The poor girl became very sad and went to the temple of the mother crying and fell at her feet and said ‘O! Mother what have you done? Why are you making me cry after making me laugh?' The mother said daughter I am sad that you broke my fast out of pride and forgot everything so soon. She said – ‘Mother! I have done no wrong. The boys misled me. I gave them money by mistake. Mother forgive me I will do your Udyaapan again.' The mother said ‘Go, you will find your husband coming on the way.' She found her husband on the way. On asking him he said ‘The king had called me' I had gone to meet him. They then went home.
After a few days, Friday came again. She again started performing Udyaapan with the permission of her husband. She again called the sons of her brother-in-law. The sisters-in-law again taught her the same thing. When asked for food, the sons again asked for sour things. She said, ‘Nothing sour will be available, if you want to come, come.' Saying this, she started bringing the sons of Brahmins and feeding them. She gave them Dakshina as per her capacity. Santoshi Mata was very pleased with her. By the grace of the mother, in the ninth month, she gave birth to a son as beautiful as the moon. She started going to the temple daily with her son.
One day Santoshi Mata thought that she comes here daily. Today I should go to her house. I should see her in-laws. Thinking this she assumed a terrifying form. Face smeared with jaggery and gram, lips like a trunk raised upwards on which flies were buzzing. In this form she went to her house. As soon as she set foot in the threshold her mother-in-law said, “Look, a witch is coming, chase her away or else she will eat someone.” The boys ran and started closing the window. The daughter-in-law of the seventh son was watching from the window. She started shouting from there, “Today my mother has come to my house.” Saying this she removed the child from drinking milk. Meanwhile the mother-in-law said, “You crazy girl, who have you seen that you have become impatient, that you have thrown the child.”
Meanwhile, due to Santoshi Mata ‘s power, only boys were visible there. The daughter-in-law said, “Mother-in-law, the one whose fast I keep is the same Santoshi Mata.” Saying this, she opened all the windows. Everyone held Santoshi Mata's feet and started pleading – “O Mother! We are fools, ignorant, sinful, we do not know the method of your fast, we have committed a great crime by breaking your fast. O Mother of the world! Please forgive our crime.” The Mother was pleased with them on this. The way she gave the daughter-in-law, the Mother should give the same reward to everyone.
