Sharad Purnima katha

The moneylender’s two daughters

A folk tale in common telling. This form is given in nearly the same words by Hindi Wikipedia, Webdunia, Amar Ujala (2025) and a “Purnima Vrat Katha” booklet; Drik Panchang, Times Now Navbharat and Prabhat Khabar tell it in their own way.

A moneylender had two daughters, and both kept the Purnima fast. The elder kept it with all her heart and by every rule, but the younger always left it unfinished.

Time passed and both were married. The elder sister’s children were healthy, but every child born to the younger died as soon as it was born. In her grief she asked the pandits why. They said, “You have been keeping the Purnima fast only halfway, and that is why your children do not live. If you keep the Purnima fast fully and by its rules, your children can live.”

The younger daughter took the pandits’ advice and this time kept the Purnima fast fully, by its rules. A son was born to her, but he too died within a few days.

Then she laid the child on a pidha, a low wooden seat, and covered him with a cloth. She went and brought her elder sister, and offered her that same seat to sit on.

As the elder sister was about to sit, her ghaghra touched the child, and at its touch the baby began to cry. Startled, she said, “You wanted to put a stain on my name! If I had sat down, this child would have died.”

The younger sister said, “Sister, he was already dead. It is by your good fortune and your merit that he has come back to life.”

After that the younger sister had it proclaimed by drum through the whole town that everyone should keep the Purnima fast fully, by its rules, and not leave it half done.

The Kojagara vrat katha: the brahmin Valit

Printed in the Vrataraja (Vishvanath Sharma; Khemraj Shrikrishnadas edition with Hindi commentary, pp. 627–630) as from the “Sanatkumar Samhita”. Drik Panchang and Webdunia (2024) give it in Hindi and English.

The rishis asked the Valakhilya sages about the lesser vratas that belong to Kartik. The Valakhilyas said that on the night of Ashwin Shukla Purnima one should stay awake and worship Lakshmi, drink coconut water and play at dice. At midnight Lakshmi, the giver of boons, roams the world asking “ko jagarti?”, “who is awake?”, and gives wealth to whoever she finds awake. All who fear poverty should keep this vrat; by it even Valit became rich. When the rishis asked who Valit was, the Valakhilyas told this story.

In the land of Magadha lived a brahmin named Valit. He was learned in many branches of knowledge and kept his daily sandhya and bath. If someone came and gave him something at home he accepted it, but asking anyone for anything felt to him like death, and so he was very poor.

His wife was hot-tempered and quarrelsome. Every day she complained that her sisters in rich homes went about decked in gold and silver while she had landed in a pauper’s house. Even before others she scorned her husband’s family and his learning. She had resolved that until Lakshmi smiled on them, she would do the opposite of whatever he said. “Steal wealth from the king’s palace and bring it here,” she would say, “or I will beat you.” Sometimes she wept, sometimes she refused food, sometimes she ate too much, sometimes she beat her head. Valit bore it all but would not go begging; he was content with whatever came.

Once the Pitri Paksha came. Everything needed for his father’s shraddha was in the house, but Valit worried: his wife did the opposite of everything, so how would the shraddha be done? Just then his friend Ganapati came by and asked why he looked troubled. Hearing it all, the friend smiled and said, “That is easy. Tell her the opposite of what you want. She will do the opposite, and your work will be done right.”

In the evening Valit came home and said to his wife, “Chandi, the day after tomorrow is my father’s shraddha, but he left me no wealth at all. So cook nothing, and if you do cook, invite gamblers and brahmins of no good conduct, never the good ones.” To do the opposite, his wife made grand preparations, cooked many dishes and invited the best brahmins of the town. And so the shraddha was done fully by its rules.

After the pinda-dana, Valit spoke to his wife of placing the pindas in the holy waters of the Ganga. Once again she did the opposite, and instead of the Ganga she put them into an unclean pit.

When he learned of it Valit was deeply grieved. In sorrow and anger he left home, vowing to live in the forest on roots, tubers and fruit alone until Lakshmi was pleased with him. Dressed in bark, he lived alone on the bank of the river Dharma. Thirty days went by, and the full moon of Ashwin came.

In that same forest lived Naga maidens of the line of Kaliya, who were keeping a vrat for Lakshmi. Their house was freshly whitewashed and shone like the moon. They worshipped Lakshmi with panchamrit, gems, mirrors and cloth, and spent the first watch of the night in puja.

Then they sat down to play dice, but the game needed four players and they were only three. Looking for a fourth, they noticed Valit sitting on the riverbank, and they could tell from his face that he was a good brahmin. “Come, play dice with us,” they said. “It pleases Lakshmi.”

Valit said, “Gambling destroys both wealth and dharma.” One of the maidens replied, “You talk like a pandit, but you think like a fool. On this full moon, Lakshmi is pleased by a game of dice.” They took him to their shrine and gave him prasad and coconut water.

The game began. The maidens staked gems. Valit had nothing, so first he staked his loincloth and lost it, then his sacred thread, and lost that too. With nothing left, he staked himself.

Just then it was midnight. Lakshmi was passing that way with Lord Narayana, watching over the world. Seeing Valit’s plight, Lord Vishnu said, “This brahmin is keeping your vrat, so why does he sit in such distress? Give him wealth and happiness.”

Lakshmi looked on him with favour, and at that moment Valit became as handsome as Kamadeva. The maidens said, “We have won you; now be our husband.” Valit agreed, married them by gandharva rite, and went home with them and their gems.

At home Valit reflected that his fortune had turned only because of his wife’s scorn, so he treated her with respect. She was pleased, and from that day she heeded her husband. By the Vrataraja, even hearing this story with faith brings the fruit of the vrat.