Bahula Chauth

Religious festival celebrated on the
fourth day (chauth) of the dark, or waning, half of the lunar month of
Bhadrapada, the sixth month of the
lunar year, which usually falls within
August and September. On this day
mothers perform duties for the welfare
of their sons. They should refrain from
all activity and from eating wheat or rice
(the staple food grains). As a symbolic
indication of allowing mothers to care
for their children, on this day cows are
not milked, and their calves are allowed
to suckle as much as they want.
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Bahula Chauth
Such motherly concern for their sons
reflects not only normal maternal
instincts but the importance of male
children in traditional Hindu life.
According to the customary pattern, at
least in northern India, daughters leave
their natal homes to live with their
husbands’ families, whereas sons bring
their brides into the family home. One’s
sons thus ensure the continuity of
the family, in addition to taking care of
the parents in their old age. Sons are
also important because only they can
perform the annual shraddhas, or
memorial rites to the ancestors,
although couples without any natural
sons can satisfy this requirement
through adoption.