Friday Santoshi Mata Vrat Katha: In a village lived an old woman who had seven sons. Six of her sons were hardworking, while the seventh was lazy. The elderly mother gave the leftovers from her six hardworking sons to the seventh son. One day, the seventh son said to his wife, “See how much my mother loves me.” She replied, “Of course, she gives you everyone’s leftovers.” He said, “I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes.” His wife laughed and said, “Will you believe it when you see it?”
A few days later, a big festival arrived. The house was filled with seven types of food and churma laddoos. To test his wife’s words, the seventh son pretended to have a headache and went to the kitchen, covering his head with a thin cloth to observe everything. When the six brothers came to eat, he saw his mother laying out beautiful mats, serving seven kinds of food, and urging them to eat heartily. After they finished, the mother gathered the pieces of laddoos from their five plates and made one laddoo.
Cleaning up, she called out to him, “Wake up, son! Your brothers have eaten; now you come and eat.” He replied, “Mother, I don’t want to eat. I am leaving for a distant land.” His mother said, “If you have to go tomorrow, then leave today.” He said, “Yes, I am going,” and left the house.
As he was leaving, he remembered his wife. She was making cow dung cakes in the cowshed. He went to her and said, “I have nothing with me. Take this ring and give me a keepsake.” She replied, “What do I have? This hand smeared with cow dung.” Saying this, she slapped his back with her cow dung-covered hand. He left and traveled to a faraway land. There he found a shop owned by a wealthy merchant. He approached the merchant and said, “Sir, please give me a job.” The merchant was in desperate need of a worker. The merchant agreed and said, “You’ll be paid based on your work.” He replied, “Sir, whatever you think is appropriate.”
He got the job and started working day and night. Soon, he handled the shop’s transactions, bookkeeping, and customer sales. The merchant had seven to eight workers, but he outperformed them all with his dedication, hard work, and honesty. The merchant was impressed and made him a partner in the profits within three months. Through hard work, in twelve years, he became a renowned merchant in the town, and the original merchant left all his business to him and went away.
Back home, his wife faced hardships. Her in-laws troubled her, making her do household chores and sending her to the forest to gather wood. They made her eat bread made from chaff and drink water from a broken coconut shell. Days went by like this. One day, while gathering wood, she saw many women performing a fast for Santoshi Mata. She stood there and asked, “Sisters, which deity’s fast are you observing, and what are its benefits? How is this fast performed? If you explain it to me, I will be very grateful.”
One woman replied, “This is the fast of Santoshi Mata. By observing this fast, poverty is eradicated, and wealth comes in. Worries of the mind are removed. It brings joy and peace to the heart. A childless woman gets a child, a beloved returns from afar, an unmarried girl finds her desired groom, ongoing lawsuits end, quarrels and disputes are resolved, and all desires of the heart are fulfilled by the grace of Santoshi Mata. There is no doubt about it.”
She then asked, “How is this fast performed? Please tell me in detail.” The woman said, “With faith and devotion, offer whatever you can as prasad. Take jaggery and chickpeas according to your capacity, starting from 1.25 paise to 1.25 annas, and even more according to your devotion. Every Friday, observe a fast and recite or listen to the story. Do not break this rule. Follow the fast continuously. If no one is there to listen, light a ghee lamp, place a water vessel in front, and recite the story. Do not break the rule. Observe the fast until your wish is fulfilled, and then perform the concluding ceremony (udyapan) of the fast.
In three months, Santoshi Mata grants full benefits. Even if someone’s planets are unfavorable, Mata makes them favorable within a year. Perform the concluding ceremony only when the wish is fulfilled, not in between. For the concluding ceremony, make a dish with 2.5 seers of flour, make kheer, and chickpea curry. Feed eight children. If you find nephews, brothers, relatives’ or neighbors’ children, call them. Serve them food and give dakshina as per your capacity, and complete Mata’s rule. Ensure that no one in the house eats anything sour on that day.”
Listening to this, she left. On the way, she sold her load of wood, bought jaggery and chickpeas, and prepared for Mata’s fast. She went to the temple of Santoshi Mata, prostrated at her feet, and prayed, “Mother, I am poor and ignorant. I do not know the rules of the fast. I am very distressed. Please remove my suffering. I seek refuge in you.”
Mother Santoshi showed mercy. After one Friday, a letter from her husband arrived, and on the third Friday, money he had sent arrived. Seeing this, her sister-in-law made faces and said, “After so many days, this much money came. What’s the big deal?” The boys in the house taunted, “Now auntie is receiving letters and money. Now she will be respected more and won’t speak to us even if we call.” The simple woman said, “Brother, it is good if letters and money come.
It is beneficial for all of us.” Saying this, with tears in her eyes, she went to Santoshi Mata’s temple and, falling at Mata’s feet, cried, “Mother, I did not ask for money. What do I have to do with money? I want my husband’s presence and service.” Mother Santoshi, pleased, said, “Go, daughter, your husband will come soon.”
Hearing this, she joyfully returned home and started working. Mother Santoshi thought, “I have assured this simple woman that her husband will come soon, but how will he come? He doesn’t even remember her in his dreams. I have to remind him.” Mother Santoshi appeared in the old woman’s son’s dream and said, “Son, your wife is suffering.” He replied, “Yes, Mother, I know this, but what can I do? How can I go there? It’s a foreign land, and I have all the business transactions to handle. I see no way out. Please show me a way to go there.”
Mother said, “In the morning, after bathing, take Santoshi Mata’s name, light a ghee lamp, bow down, and sit in your shop. Soon, all your transactions will be settled, and by evening, you will have a pile of wealth.” The next morning, he woke up early and told his friends and acquaintances about the dream. They mocked him, saying, “Dreams are never true.” An old, wise man said, “Listen, brother, just follow what the deity said. What do you have to lose?”
Following the old man’s advice, he bathed, prayed to Santoshi Mata, lit a ghee lamp, and sat in his shop. By evening, he had a pile of wealth. Astonished, he took Mata’s name, bought jewelry, clothes, and other items, and set off for his home.
Meanwhile, his wife went to the forest to gather wood. Tired on her way back, she sat down to rest at Santoshi Mata’s temple, her usual resting spot. Seeing dust rising, she asked Mata, “Mother, why is this dust rising?” Mata replied, “Daughter, your husband is coming. Now, make three bundles of wood. Place one by the river, one at my temple, and the third on your head. Your husband will see the wood and stop. He will make breakfast, eat, and then go to meet his mother. You carry the wood, and when you reach the courtyard, loudly announce, ‘Take the bundle of wood, give me chaff bread and coconut shell water. Who is the guest today?'”
Following Mata’s instructions, she made three bundles of wood, placed one by the river and the other at the temple. Just then, the traveler arrived. Seeing the dry wood, he decided to rest there, cook, and eat before heading to the village. After resting and eating, he arrived in his village.
At that moment, his wife arrived, carrying the bundle of wood on her head. She placed it in the courtyard and loudly announced, “Take the bundle of wood, give me chaff bread, and coconut shell water. Who is the guest today?” Hearing this, the mother-in-law, forgetting the troubles she had caused, said, “Why do you speak like this, daughter-in-law? Your husband has returned. Sit down, eat sweet rice, and wear new clothes and jewelry.” Hearing his wife’s voice, the husband came out and, seeing the ring on her finger, became anxious.
He asked his mother, “Mother, who is this?” She replied, “Son, she is your wife. It has been twelve years since you left, and she has been wandering like an animal in the village. She does no work, just comes and eats four times a day. Now she asks for chaff bread and coconut shell water.” He said, “Mother, I have seen her and I’ve seen you. Give me the key to the other house; I’ll live there.” “As you wish, son,” said the mother, and placed the bunch of keys in front of her son.
He opened the other house and arranged everything. Within a day, it looked like a royal palace. Now, they began to enjoy their life. The next Friday, the wife said to her husband, “I need to perform the concluding ceremony (Udyapan) of Santoshi Mata’s fast.” The husband replied, “Very well, do it happily.”
She started preparing for the ceremony. She went to invite her elder brother-in-law’s sons for the meal, and they agreed. But behind her back, her sister-in-law instructed her children, “Listen, during the meal, ask for something sour so her ceremony won’t be completed.”
The boys came to eat and enjoyed the kheer. But remembering their mother’s words, they said, “Give us something sour to eat. We don’t like kheer.” The boys stood up and asked for money. The naive woman gave them money. They went to the market, bought tamarind, and ate it. Seeing this, Mata became angry.
The king’s messengers arrested her husband, and they thought, “Now it will be known when he eats jail food!” The woman couldn’t bear this. She went to Santoshi Mata’s temple and cried, “Mother, what have you done? Why did you make me laugh only to make me cry again?”
Mata replied, “Daughter, you broke my fast’s rules. Did you forget everything so quickly?” The woman said, “Mother, I haven’t forgotten anything or committed any crime. The boys made me forget. Please forgive me, Mother.” Mata said, “How could you make such a mistake?” The woman said, “It won’t happen again. Now tell me, how will my husband return?”
Mata replied, “Daughter, your husband will meet you on the way.” Leaving the temple, she found her husband returning. She asked, “Where were you?” He replied, “The king demanded tax for the wealth I earned, so I went to pay it.” She joyfully said, “Good, now let’s go home.”
The next Friday came, and she said, “I need to perform Mata’s concluding ceremony.” Her husband agreed. She went to invite her elder brother-in-law’s sons again. This time, the elder sister-in-law instructed the boys to ask for something sour right at the beginning.
The boys sat down to eat and immediately demanded, “We don’t like kheer-puri. Give us something sour to eat.” She replied, “You won’t get anything sour. Eat if you want.” When the boys left, she invited Brahmin boys and fed them. Instead of dakshina, she gave them a fruit each.
Santoshi Mata was pleased. By Mata’s grace, nine months later, she gave birth to a beautiful son like the moon. Holding her son, she started visiting Santoshi Mata’s temple daily. Mata thought, “She comes daily; today, I should visit her home.”
So, Mata took a frightening form with a mouth smeared with jaggery and chickpeas, lips like a bald head, and flies buzzing around. As soon as she stepped inside, the mother-in-law screamed, “Look! A witch has come, boys. Chase her away, or she’ll eat us all.” The woman was watching through the window and rejoiced, saying, “Today, my Mata has come to my home.”
She put her baby down from her lap. Seeing this, her mother-in-law, angry, said, “You fool! Why are you so excited? You even dropped the baby.” In that moment, by Mata’s grace, boys appeared everywhere. The woman said, “Mother-in-law, this is Santoshi Mata, whom I worship.”
Saying this, she opened all the doors of the house. Everyone fell at Mata’s feet, begging for forgiveness and saying, “Mother, we are fools and ignorant. We didn’t know your fast’s rules and committed a great sin. Please forgive our sins, Mother.” After repeatedly pleading, Santoshi Mata was pleased.
After this, the mother-in-law said, “O Santoshi Mata, as you have blessed my daughter-in-law, bless everyone else too. May whoever reads or listens to this story have their desires fulfilled.
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