The month-long Swasthani Vrat Katha is coming to an end today, on the day of Magh Shukla Purnima.

The one-month Swasthani fast, which was started by the followers of Vedic Sanatan Hinduism from the full moon of Paush Shukla Purnima, is going to be concluded today.

Devotees from all over the country, who started the Swasthani fast from the full moon of Paush Shukla Purnima and worshipped Lord Parvati along with Mahadev every day at noon, are going to conclude the fast today. The conversation between Kumar and Agastya in the Magh Mahatmya of the Kedar Khanda under the Skanda Purana, which started from that day, is also being told and heard as the Swasthani story.

On the day of Magh Shukla Purnima, devotees who have been fasting for a month will offer 108 janas, 108 betel nuts, 108 betel leaves, 108 paan leaves, 108 paula, 108 rotis, 108 akshasas, various types of fruits, incense, lamps, offerings, Shrikhand, blood sandalwood, vermilion, clothes, and offerings to Bhagwati so that the wishes of the fast may be fulfilled. There is a ritual of taking eight of the offered offerings to the husband, eight to the son if there is no husband, and eight to the son if there is no son, and eight to the son if there is no son, and eight to the son if there is no son, so that the wish may be fulfilled.

The devotee eats one hundred loaves of bread and stays awake at night. During the wake, the greatness of the goddess is heard and recited. It is believed that if the devotee does this, the wish of the devotee will be fulfilled. Swasthani literally means the goddess of the place where one lives. Worshipping the goddess of the place where one lives is Swasthani Puja. Since the time after Uttarayan is suitable for meditation and yoga, it is also believed that practicing Swasthani, that is, contact with one's soul, is called Swasthani. For this, the time from the full moon of Paush Shukla Purnima to the full moon of Magh Shukla Purnima is considered good.

The goddess with golden complexion, three eyes, a happy posture, sitting on a lotus and a throne, and four arms is called Swasthani Devi. Among the four hands of Swasthani, the goddess Swasthani is mentioned in the Vrat Katha as holding a blue lotus in her first hand, a sword in her second hand, a shield in her third hand, and a blessing gesture in her fourth hand.

It is believed that if a person fasts to this goddess in a proper manner, the separated couple will be reunited. There is also a popular story that if a person is sick, they will be cured and if they wish to be a husband or wife, they will be granted. The story of Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayan mountain in the Satya Yuga, observing the Vrat of Swasthani as instructed by Vishnu to get a husband for Mahadev is narrated in Swasthani. The story also mentions that the separated Naganagini were reunited after the fast.

The story of how a Goma Brahmin was saved from the loss of his son by following the fast taught by the Saptarishi and his son Navaraj Lavanya Desh became the king of the present Sankhu region due to the effect of the fast is also narrated in Swasthani, informed Prakash Shrestha 'Sakva', a historian who is researching the historical, religious, archaeological, cultural and tourism issues of Sankhu. 

This year's Swasthani fast will end after performing a ritualistic puja after noon today, staying awake at night and bathing in the Phulpati river on Thursday morning, said Prof. Dr. Devmani Bhattarai, head of the Department of Theology, Nepal Sanskrit University, Valmiki Vidyapeeth and member of the Nepal Panchanga Nirikhaya Bikash Samiti.