Vat Savitri Udyapan Vidhiवट सावित्री उद्यापन विधि

Udyapan is the formal completion of a vrat. A woman who has kept the Vat Savitri Vrat for some years may, at a chosen time, perform an udyapan to mark the fulfilment of her vow with gratitude. There is no single fixed rule for when or how this is done: practices differ widely between regions, communities and families, and many women keep the vrat all their lives without a separate udyapan. What follows describes the common practice in broad terms. Where your family or a family priest has its own method, follow that.

When udyapan is done

• After a set number of years: Some women take a sankalp at the start to keep the vrat for a fixed number of years, and perform the udyapan when that number is complete.
• At a chosen time: Others perform it when the family decides, for example after a wish is felt to be fulfilled, or at a meaningful family occasion.
• When fasting becomes difficult: Some women do the udyapan when age or health makes the fast hard, and then continue the puja without the strict fast.

The udyapan is normally done on the day of the vrat itself, on Jyeshtha Amavasya or, for Vat Purnima, on Jyeshtha Purnima.

Preparation

Gather everything on the usual puja samagri list, and add the extra items for gifts and charity listed below. Many families invite a priest for the udyapan, especially if a havan is to be done, but a simple udyapan can be performed by the woman herself with the help of the elders of the house.

Steps commonly followed

1. Bathe and dress: Rise early, bathe and wear new or festive clothes with full shringar, as on any vrat day.
2. Take the sankalp: With water, akshat and a flower in the right hand, resolve to complete the Vat Savitri Vrat with its udyapan, and offer thanks for the years of the vow.
3. Do the regular puja: Worship the banyan tree, Savitri and Satyavan, offer water, roli, flowers and soaked gram, and do the parikrama with kachcha sut, as in the Vat Savitri puja vidhi.
4. Hear the katha: Read or listen to the story of Savitri and Satyavan with the family and invited women.
5. Havan (optional): In some families a small havan is performed by a priest, with offerings made into the sacred fire.
6. Honour married women: Invite a number of married women, often an odd number chosen by family custom, and offer them food, suhag items, a sari or cloth and dakshina, as a mark of respect for the tradition of Savitri.
7. Gift to the mother-in-law: Give the mother-in-law, or an elder woman of the family, a fuller baya than usual, with clothes, sweets, fruits and suhag items, and seek her blessing.
8. Charity: Give grain, clothes, fruits or money to the needy, or to a Brahmin, according to your means.
9. Paran: Break the fast after the puja and blessings, as you normally do.

Common gifts and offerings

Planting a banyan

Some families now add a simple, meaningful step: planting or adopting a banyan sapling at a temple, school or park on the day of the udyapan. Since the vrat honours the long-lived banyan, many see this as a fitting way to give something back. It is a modern custom rather than an old rule, but it is in keeping with the spirit of the vrat.

After the udyapan

Udyapan does not mean the woman must stop worshipping the banyan. Many women continue to do the puja every year, with or without the fast. Customs vary, so ask the elders of your family.

Health note

If you are keeping a nirjala fast on the udyapan day, take care in the summer heat and drink plenty of water before and after. Pregnant or nursing women, the unwell, the elderly and those on medication should consult a doctor and may keep a phalahar or lighter fast. This is not a substitute for medical advice.

Frequently asked questions