Santoshi Mata Vrat Katha in Englishसंतोषी माता व्रत कथा अंग्रेज़ी में

An old woman and her seven sons

Long ago, in a certain town, there lived an old woman who had seven sons. Six of them earned a living and kept the household going, but the youngest did no work at all. He wandered about all day and came home only at mealtimes to eat.

The old woman served her six earning sons with great affection. When they had eaten and risen, she gathered whatever was left on their plates and served those leftovers to her youngest son. He was simple and trusting and had no idea of it. He quietly ate whatever he was given.

One day the youngest son said to his wife, "See how much my mother loves me." His wife answered softly, "Why would she not, when she feeds you everyone's leftovers?" The son was deeply hurt. "I will not believe it until I see it with my own eyes," he said. His wife smiled and said, "Then see it for yourself."

The truth about the leftovers

A few days later a festival came. Many dishes were cooked in the house, among them sweet churma laddoos. The youngest son decided that today he would learn the truth. Pretending to have a headache, he lay down in a corner of the kitchen with a thin cloth over himself and watched everything from beneath it.

The six brothers sat down to eat, and their mother lovingly served them laddoos and sweets. When they had finished, she picked the broken pieces of laddoo and the remaining food from their plates, put them on one plate and called out, "Get up, son, your brothers have eaten, now you eat too." The son said, "Mother, I do not want to eat. I am going away to a distant land." His mother replied, "If you are going tomorrow, you may as well go today." "Yes," he said, "I am going today," and he left the house.

As he went, he remembered his wife. She was in the cowshed, patting cow dung into cakes for fuel. He went to her and said, "I am going abroad to earn a living. I will come back after some time. Live in contentment and keep to your duty." Her eyes filled with tears. "Go without worry," she said, "but leave me a token." He had nothing else, so he took off his ring and gave it to her, saying, "Give me a token too." Her hands were covered in cow dung, so she pressed the print of her hand on his back. And so he set off.

Work with a merchant and growing wealth

He travelled a long way and reached a large city, where a merchant (seth) had a big shop. He went to the seth and said, "Sir, please give me work." The seth needed a man and asked, "What wages will you take?" The young man replied, "Give me whatever seems fair once you see my work." The seth took him on.

He worked with all his heart from morning till night. Because of his honesty and hard work, within a few days he was handling the shop's trade, its accounts and its customers with great skill. The seth had seven or eight servants, but he came to trust this young man most of all. Within three months the seth made him a partner with a half share in the profits, and in a few years he became a well-known and wealthy trader of the city.

But amid his wealth and his work, he completely forgot his home, his mother and his wife. He sent no letter and no money.

The wife's days of hardship

At home, meanwhile, a mountain of sorrow fell on his wife. Her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law made her do all the heavy work of the house. Every day she was sent into the forest to gather wood. The family ate good food, while she was given bread made of husk and water in a coconut shell. She bore it all in silence and waited for her husband.

One day, as she was coming back from the forest with wood, she saw a group of women sitting together and performing a puja. She stopped and asked, "Sisters, which deity's vrat are you keeping? What is its fruit, and how is it done? Please tell me too."

Learning the Santoshi Mata vrat

One of the women answered kindly, "Sister, this is the vrat of Santoshi Mata. It is believed that whoever keeps it with faith is freed from poverty and worry, finds contentment of mind, and that the Mother fulfils the wishes of her devotees."

Then she explained the method: "Take gud and chana (jaggery and roasted gram) worth a small coin, sava aana, or whatever you can afford. Every Friday, after bathing, worship Santoshi Mata and listen to the katha with the gud and chana in your hand. Do not miss a Friday in between, and keep the vrat for sixteen Fridays in a row. If there is no one to listen, light a lamp, or keep something before you, and tell the katha yourself. On that day do not eat anything sour, and do not give anything sour to anyone. Eat only once in the day. When the sixteen Fridays are complete, do the udyapan. On the udyapan day feed eight boys a meal of kheer, puri and chana curry, and give them nothing sour either."

Hearing this, the young wife's heart blossomed. On the way she sold her bundle of wood and with the money bought gud and chana. She resolved in her heart to keep the vrat, and walking on, she reached a temple of Santoshi Mata. Falling at the Mother's feet, she said, "Mother, I know nothing. I do not even know the proper way of worship. I am very unhappy. I have come to your shelter; take away my sorrow." The Mother was moved by her simple devotion.

A letter and money from her husband

The wife began the Friday vrat with her whole heart. One Friday passed, and when the second Friday came, a letter arrived from her husband. On the third Friday the money he had sent also arrived. Seeing this, her brothers-in-law and their wives burned with jealousy. They taunted her, "Now that money has started coming to her, she will expect to be treated like a queen."

The wife was simple at heart. She went to the temple again and said to the Mother, "Mother, I did not ask you for money. What use is money to me? I only want to see my husband. Let him come back to me; that is my only prayer." The Mother was pleased and said, "Go, daughter, your husband will come soon." Full of joy, the wife went home.

The Mother reminds the husband in a dream

Santoshi Mata thought, "I have given my word to this innocent daughter, but her husband does not remember her even in his dreams. I must go and remind him myself." That night the Mother appeared in the son's dream and said, "Son of the house, are you asleep or awake?" He replied, "Mother, I am neither asleep nor awake, but somewhere in between. Tell me, what is your command?" The Mother said, "Do you have a home or not? Your wife is suffering so much there. Think of her for once."

The son remembered everything. He said, "Mother, I remember it all, but my business here is spread far and wide. How can I leave without settling the seth's accounts and selling my goods?" The Mother said, "In the morning, after bathing, light a ghee lamp in the name of Santoshi Mata and go and sit in the shop. Before your eyes all your work will be done."

In the morning he told the dream to the seth, who said, "Caring for one's home and family is a duty. Go." He lit the lamp as the Mother had said and sat down in the shop. Soon customers began to come, all his goods were sold, those who owed him money came of their own accord to pay, and with the seth's help all the accounts were settled by evening. The son bowed to Santoshi Mata in his heart, bought ornaments, clothes and many gifts for his family, and set out for home.

The homecoming and the bundles of wood

Meanwhile the wife was returning from the forest with wood as usual. Tired, she stopped at the temple of Santoshi Mata. The Mother said to her, "Daughter, your husband is coming. Today make three bundles of wood. Leave one on the riverbank, one at my temple, and carry one home on your head. When you reach home, call out loudly: Mother-in-law, take the bundle of wood, give me my husk bread and water in the coconut shell. Who is the guest who has come today?"

Her husband was coming along that very road. Seeing a bundle of wood on the riverbank, he stopped and rested there. Then he saw another bundle at the temple and began to wonder. The wife, meanwhile, reached home with the bundle on her head, threw it down in the courtyard and loudly said the words the Mother had taught her. To cover things up, her mother-in-law said, "Why do you speak like that, daughter-in-law? Your husband has come. Come, eat sweet rice and put on good clothes."

Just then the husband reached home. Hearing his wife's words and seeing her condition, he understood how she had been treated in his absence. He asked his mother, "Mother, who is this?" She said, "Son, this is your wife. She roams about all day and does no work." The son said, "Mother, I have seen her, and I have seen you too. Now give me the keys of the other house; I will live there." He went to live in a separate house with his wife. What he had brought filled the house, and the two of them lived happily.

Sour food at the udyapan and a hard test

When the sixteen Fridays were complete, the wife spoke to her husband about the udyapan, and he gladly agreed. She prepared for it and invited the sons of her brothers-in-law to the meal. But her sisters-in-law were full of jealousy. They told their children, "At the meal, ask for something sour, so that her udyapan is spoiled."

The boys came and ate their fill of kheer, puri and chana curry, and then began to demand something sour: "Give us something sour, we like sour things." The wife said, "Today is the udyapan of Santoshi Mata. Nothing sour is given to anyone today." Then the boys said, "Then give us money." Without thinking, the innocent wife gave them money. The boys went to the market, bought tamarind with it and ate it. In this way the rule of the vrat was broken.

Santoshi Mata was displeased. At that very time the king's men came and took her husband away. Her brothers-in-law and their wives jeered, "He must have brought looted wealth; now he will learn." The wife could not bear it. Weeping, she went to the temple, fell at the Mother's feet and said, "Mother, what have you done? First you made me laugh, and now you make me cry."

The Mother said, "Daughter, you broke my rule at the udyapan. You gave the boys money and they ate sour food. Have you forgotten so soon?" With folded hands the wife said, "Mother, the mistake is mine, but it was made without knowing. The boys insisted and I gave them money. Forgive me. I will do your udyapan again." The Mother said, "Go, and do not make the mistake again. You will meet your husband on the way."

A second udyapan and the Mother's grace

As she walked home, she met her husband coming towards her. She asked, "Where did they take you?" He said, "The king had demanded tax on the wealth I earned and brought home. I went to pay it." The wife silently thanked the Mother, and the two of them went home happily.

The next Friday the wife kept the vrat again with every rule and prepared for the udyapan. This time she invited eight sons of Brahmins to the meal. She fed them kheer, puri and chana curry and did not let even the name of anything sour come near. After the meal she gave each boy a fruit as dakshina instead of money, so that none of them could go to the market and buy something sour. In this way the udyapan was completed properly.

Santoshi Mata was pleased. Happiness and prosperity returned to the home. Some time later, by the Mother's grace, the wife gave birth to a son as beautiful as the moon. Every day she took the child with her to the Mother's temple.

The Mother's fearsome form and blessings for all

One day Santoshi Mata thought, "This daughter of mine comes to me every day. Today let me go to her house." The Mother took on a frightening form: her mouth was smeared with gud and chana, her lips were swollen, and flies buzzed around them. In this form she arrived at the door of the wife's in-laws.

As soon as she set foot on the threshold, the mother-in-law screamed, "Look, a witch is coming! Send the children away or she will eat one of them." The children ran off in fear, and the family began shutting the doors and windows. The wife peeped out through a small window and cried out with joy, "Today my Mother has come to my house!" She ran to carry her child towards the Mother's lap.

The mother-in-law said angrily, "What madness has come over you at the sight of her? Why are you taking the child to her?" The wife said humbly, "Mother-in-law, this is Santoshi Mata herself, whose vrat I keep." Saying this, she opened all the doors of the house and welcomed the Mother with love.

At these words everyone's eyes were opened. The mother-in-law and sisters-in-law fell at the Mother's feet and said, "Mother, we are foolish and ignorant. We did not know the method of your vrat. We committed a great wrong by breaking it. Mother of the world, forgive us." The Mother's heart melted. She forgave them all and blessed the whole family. From that day love, happiness and contentment stayed in that home, and everyone in the family began to keep the Mother's vrat with faith.

O Santoshi Mata, as you showed grace to that daughter-in-law, took away her sorrows and gave her family happiness and contentment, so may you keep your grace on all devotees who tell, read and hear this katha. May there be happiness, peace and contentment in every home.

Say it together: Bolo Santoshi Mata ki Jai!

How to listen to the katha

The katha is the centre of the Friday puja. It is read or heard after the picture of Santoshi Mata has been worshipped and before the aarti. The full order of the puja is on the Santoshi Mata vrat vidhi page; the points below cover the katha itself. Customs vary between families, so follow your own tradition where it differs.

1. Place the kalash of water before the Mother with a small bowl of gud and chana on its mouth, and light the ghee lamp and incense.
2. Take a little gud and chana in your right hand and keep it there while the katha is read. Everyone listening may do the same.
3. Read slowly and clearly, aloud if family members are listening. If no one is there to listen, many devotees light a lamp and tell the katha to it, as the women in the story advise.
4. Try not to get up or talk in between, and keep your mind on the Mother.
5. At the end, say "Bolo Santoshi Mata ki Jai" together, then sing the aarti "Jai Santoshi Mata".
6. After the aarti, the gud and chana from the hand is traditionally given to a cow (or put aside respectfully), and the rest of the gud-chana prasad is shared. The kalash water is sprinkled around the home and the rest is poured on a tulsi plant.

Remember the lesson of the story: on vrat Fridays nothing sour is eaten or given to anyone. When your Fridays are complete, the udyapan vidhi page explains how to feed the eight boys and why they are given a gift rather than money. The same story is also available as the Santoshi Mata Vrat Katha in Hindi.