Why is Bachbaras fast observed? When is it in August, know the date, auspicious time, importance

Bach Baras 2024: Four days after Janmashtami, that is, the Dwadashi date of Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapad month has special significance, on this day the festival of Bachh Baras is celebrated. Bachh Baras will be celebrated on 30 August 2024. On this day, Mother Cow is worshipped along with her calf.

Mothers apply Tilak to their sons and after breaking the pot, offer them Laddu as Prasad. Women having sons observe fast and do Puja for the well-being of their children.

How is Bachh Baras Puja done? (Bachh Baras Puja)

On this day, dishes made from wheat and vegetables cut with a knife are not eaten. Sogra of millet or sorghum and curry of sprouted grains and dry vegetables are prepared. After the women worship the cow in the morning, they decorate a pond made of mud and cow dung in homes or collectively and fill it with raw milk and water and worship it by lighting kumkum, mauli, incense and lamps and the story of Bachbaras is heard.

Why is Bachh Baras celebrated? (Why we Celebrate Bachh Baras)

Bachh Baras is celebrated every year on 30th August, four days after Janmashtami, on the day of Dwadashi of Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapad month, hence it is also called Govatsa Dwadashi. Lord Krishna loved cows and calves a lot, hence this festival is celebrated.

It is believed that worshipping cows and calves on the day of Bachh Baras brings blessings of hundreds of deities residing in cows including Lord Krishna, which brings prosperity and wealth to the house. The festival of Bachh Baras is more popular among Rajasthani women.

Bach Baras Puja Material and Worship Method

For the Puja, take buffalo milk and curd, soaked gram and moth. Mix ghee and sugar in moth and millet. Put roli tilak on the cow and use millet in place of rice. For the sacrifice, keep soaked gram, moth, millet and money in a bowl. On this day, a cow with a calf is worshipped. If you cannot worship the cow, then make a Bachbaras out of clay on a wooden board and make a round mud well in the middle of it.

Then fill it with some milk and curd. Then offer all the things and do the puja. After this offer roli, dakshina. Apply tilak on yourself. Tell the story holding moth and millet grains in hand. The picture of Bachh Baras can also be worshipped. Give the bayna to the sans by touching the feet.

Story of Bach Baras (Bachh Baras Katha)

A long time ago, a moneylender lived in a village with his seven sons and grandsons. The moneylender had built a pond in the village but the pond did not fill up for twelve years. He called the Pandits to ask the reason for the pond not filling up. The Pandits said that it will fill up only when you sacrifice either your eldest son or your eldest grandson. Then the moneylender sent his eldest daughter-in-law to her parental home and sacrificed his eldest grandson. Meanwhile, thundering rain clouds came and the pond was completely filled.

After this Bachbaras came and everyone said that “our pond is completely filled, let’s go and worship it”. The moneylender went to worship the pond with his family. He told the maid to cook Gehula. Gehula means wheat grains. The maid could not understand. Actually Gehula was the name of a cow’s calf. She cooked Gehula. The elder son’s wife had also come from her parental home to worship the pond. After worshipping the pond, she started loving her children and then she asked about the elder son.

Then her elder son came out of the pond covered in mud and said, “Mother, love me too.” Then the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started looking at each other. The mother-in-law told the daughter-in-law everything about the sacrifice. Then the mother-in-law said that Bachbaras Mata saved our honour and gave our child back. After worshipping the pond, when they returned home, they saw that the calf was not there. The moneylender asked the maid where the calf was, then the maid said, “You yourself had asked me to cook it.”

The moneylender said, “I have already absolved you of one sin and you have committed another sin.” The moneylender buried the cooked calf in the soil. When the cow returned in the evening, she started looking for her calf and started digging the soil. Then the calf came out of the soil. When the moneylender came to know about it, he also went to see the calf.

He saw that the calf was busy drinking the cow’s milk. Then the moneylender spread the word in the entire village that every son’s mother should observe the Bachbaras fast and worship the pond. O Bachbaras Mata! Give us the same as you gave to the moneylender’s daughter-in-law. Fulfill everyone’s wishes while telling the story. After this, tell the story of Ganesh ji.

Bachh Baras Udhyapan

The year in which a boy is born or the year in which the boy gets married, the Udyaapan of Bachhbaras is done. Perform all the pujas as in every year. Just make Kuddi like a quarter seer of soaked moth millet in a plate. Place two handfuls of Moi (mix ghee and sugar in millet flour and knead it in water) and two pieces of cucumber on the thirteen Kudi. Place a Teyal (two sarees and blouse piece) and a rupee on it and wave your hand over it and touch it to the mother-in-law. In this way, the Udyaapan of Bachhbaras is completed.

Importance of worshiping mother cow (Bachh Baras Cow Puja benefit)

In Indian religious Puranas, it is said that cow is the source of all pilgrimages. The revered cow is our mother, who can be equaled by no other god or goddess, nor any pilgrimage. Just by seeing the cow, one gets such virtues, which cannot be obtained even by performing big yagyas, donations, etc.

It is believed that if you want to please all the gods and goddesses and ancestors together, then there is no better ritual than cow worship and cow service. If you just feed a grass to mother cow, it reaches all the gods and goddesses automatically.

According to Bhavishya Purana, Brahma resides in the back of the cow, Vishnu in the neck, Rudra in the mouth, all the gods in the middle, Maharishis in the hair follicles, Ananta Nag in the tail, all the mountains in the hooves, rivers like Ganga in cow urine, Lakshmi in cow dung and Sun-Moon in the eyes. That is why on the day of Bachh Baras or Govats Dwadashi, women celebrate this festival for the safety, long life of their children and happiness of the family.

On this day, especially millet bread which is also called sogra and sprouted grain vegetable is prepared in the houses. On this day, buffalo or goat milk is used instead of cow milk.

Disclaimer: The information provided here is based on beliefs and information only. It is important to mention here that ABPLive.com Any kind of belief or information is not confirmed. Before implementing any information or belief, consult the concerned expert.