Significance of Vat Savitri Vratवट सावित्री व्रत का महत्व

Vat Savitri Vrat is one of the most loved fasts of married Hindu women. On this day women worship the banyan tree and remember Savitri, the princess who, by her devotion, wisdom and persistence, won back the life of her husband Satyavan from Yama, the god of death. Women keep the vrat praying for the long life, health and well-being of their husbands and families. This page explains why the day matters, what the banyan tree stands for, and what the main customs mean.

If you are new to the vrat, you may also want to read the story of Savitri and Satyavan and the Vat Savitri puja vidhi.

What is Vat Savitri Vrat?

The name joins two words: vat, the banyan tree, and Savitri, the heroine of the story. The vrat is kept in the month of Jyeshtha, around May or June. In North India, where the purnimanta calendar is followed, it falls on Jyeshtha Amavasya. In Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka and other western and southern regions it is kept about fifteen days later on Jyeshtha Purnima, and is known as Vat Purnima. The meaning and the heart of the worship are the same on both days.

The vrat is observed across a wide area, from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh to Odisha, Nepal's Madhesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, and each region adds its own songs, foods and customs. In western Odisha it is popularly called Sabitri Brata.

The story behind the vrat

The story comes from the Mahabharata, where the sage Markandeya tells it to Yudhishthira. Savitri, daughter of King Ashwapati of Madra, chose as her husband Satyavan, son of the blind and exiled king Dyumatsena, even after the sage Narada warned that Satyavan would die exactly one year after the marriage. On the fated day Satyavan fell unconscious in the forest with his head in Savitri's lap, and Yama came to take his life. Savitri followed Yama, spoke to him wisely about dharma, and won boons that finally restored her husband's life, her father-in-law's sight and kingdom, and blessings for her own family. Read the full account in Savitri in the Mahabharata.

Why the banyan tree is worshipped

According to tradition, Satyavan lay under a banyan tree when Yama came for him, and Savitri won back his life there. The tree therefore became the centre of the worship. The banyan is also a natural symbol of long life: it lives for a very long time, and its aerial roots grow down to the ground and become new trunks, so a single tree can spread into a small grove. Devotees see in it the hope of an unbroken, long married life and a family that grows and stays rooted.

A popular belief holds that the Trimurti dwell in the banyan: Brahma at the roots, Vishnu in the trunk and Shiva at the top. Worshipping the tree is therefore felt to honour all three. More on this is on the page about the importance of the banyan tree.

What Savitri stands for

Savitri is often remembered only as a devoted wife, but the story shows much more. She chooses her own husband and holds to her choice when warned. She prepares for the fated day with a fast and calm resolve instead of despair. When she faces Yama, she does not weep or plead; she speaks about truth, friendship with the good and the duties of a righteous life, so well that the god of death himself is pleased. Her success comes from intelligence, courage and steady purpose as much as from love. For many women the vrat is a way of remembering this strength, not only of praying for a husband.

The meaning of the main customs

• Fasting: Savitri began a fast three days before the fated day. Women fast in her memory as an act of self-discipline and prayer. Many keep a nirjala (waterless) fast, while others take fruit or water.
• Raw cotton thread: Women wind kachcha sut or a red or yellow thread around the trunk while walking around the tree. The thread is seen as a bond of protection and of the lasting tie of marriage.
• Parikrama: Walking around the tree 7, 11, 21 or 108 times expresses devotion and the wish for a complete, unbroken life together.
• Soaked gram: Bhige chane are offered and, in many homes, used to break the fast. In some retellings they are linked to the life returning to Satyavan.
• The fan: In some customs women fan the tree, or their husband, with a bamboo or palm pankha, recalling how Savitri cared for Satyavan in the forest heat.
• Solah shringar: Women dress as brides with sindoor, bangles and other marks of a married woman, celebrating the married state the vrat honours.
• Blessings of elders: Touching the feet of the mother-in-law and elders, and in some regions giving her the baya of fruits, sweets and suhag items, keeps the family at the heart of the day.

Customs vary from region to region and family to family. Follow the practice of your own elders where it differs. The full list of items is on the puja samagri page.

Spiritual and social meaning

Beyond the prayer for a husband's long life, the vrat carries several layers of meaning. It teaches patience and inner strength. It brings women of a neighbourhood together under one tree, sharing the katha, songs and food. It honours a tree that gives shade and shelter to people, birds and animals, so it quietly keeps alive a respect for nature. And it hands down an old story of a woman who used her mind and voice to change her fate.

Devotees believe that keeping the vrat with sincerity brings blessings to the home. These are matters of faith; the deeper value lies in the devotion, discipline and love with which the day is kept.

A note on fasting and health

The vrat falls in the hottest part of the year in much of India. If you keep a nirjala fast, drink enough water the evening before and after breaking the fast, and avoid long stretches in the midday sun. Pregnant or nursing women, anyone who is unwell, the elderly and people on medication should consult a doctor; they may keep a phalahar (fruit) fast or a lighter vow and still do the puja with full devotion. This is not a substitute for medical advice.

Frequently asked questions