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​It was the day of Sakat Chauth i.e. Chaturthi and the old lady was an ardent devotee of Goddess Sakat. She prayed to the Goddess for the safety of her son. Finally, when her son was getting ready to offer himself into the furnace, she gave her son a betel nut as a protective talisman. She asked him to hold on to the betel nut and pray to the Goddess Sakat as the kiln was getting fired up. She assured him that because of the grace of the Divine Mother, he would stay safe even when the kiln reached super high temperatures!

Her son did as per his mother's guidance and by the grace of the divine mother, he was absolutely unscathed. The villagers were shocked when he walked out of the hot kiln after all the pots were fired. Not only was he safe, but the villagers noticed that the Divine Mother had blessed all the other children who had previously been sacrificed, as well. They all came out of the kiln- safe and sound.

Everyone realized the immense love and grace of the Divine Mother and since then mothers in particularly pray to Maa Sakat (Divine Mother Goddess Sakat) for continued good health and wellbeing of their children.

Sakat Chauth is called by different names, depending on the region. It is called as Mahi Chauth, Mai Chauth and also as Tilkuta Chauth.

In addition, this day of Sakat Chauth, which happens to be the fourth day of the Krishna Paksha (waning moon phase) of the Vedic lunar month of Magha, is traditionally considered an important day to pray to Lord Ganesh and is called as the Sankashti Chaturthi. Sakat Chauth is also called as Vakra-Tundi Chaturthi and Maghi Chauth in honor of Lord Ganesh. You can read more about   Sankashti Chaturthi Vrat- Understanding the importance of Sankashti Chaturthi

On Sakat Chauth, Lord Ganesha is also worshipped along with Goddess Sakat. Worshipping Lord Ganesh on this day brings happiness and prosperity.

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Maa Shakhambari (also written as Shakambhari), who is an incarnation of the Divine Mother, is known as the Goddess of  Fruits, Vegetables and other green vegetation. 

The day of Shakhambari Purnima is also called as Shakhambari Jayanti.  It is the last day of Shakhambari Navratri festival. Unlike most Navratri festivals, which begin on the Shukla paksha pratipada, i.e. on the first day of the waxing moon phase, Shakhambari Navratri begins on the ashtami, i.e. the eight day of the waxing phase of the moon in the Vedic calendar month of Pausha and culminates on the full moon (purnima). She is believed to have incarnated on earth, to mitigate and relieve famine and other possible food crises.​

Considering this full moon is a time when farmers harvest the winter cash crops of fruits and vegetables, it is wonderful to see the divine essence, indicating our food-bounty, being venerated and honored on this harvest full moon! In the west, this full moon in the month of January is called as the Wolf Moon. It comes from the belief that wolves howled more frequently during this time of the year, which would make sense considering the bleak, long winter nights in the colder regions of the west where the full moon would help to light up the dull, dreary night sky... promising the increase of light as the days get longer and the nights get shorter...

On this day, we pray to Maa Shakhambari to express gratitude and obtain her continued blessings for our daily nutrition and sustenance.

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So basically, Panchang are the five limbs of the Vedic almanac, which are calculated as per the movement of the moon thru the sky, i.e., thru the various lunar constellations (nakshatras) and the various resulting celestial combinations that are formed in the process. Panchang helps priests and astrologers choose the right time for important occasions like weddings and funerals. It also helps people by outlining auspicious periods for important vrats or upavas, i.e., for ritualistic fasting and prayer-sadhanas.

The Hindus as well as others who follow the Vedic tradition, use panchang to plan their daily, weekly, and longer-term activities. It can be a useful guide for all aspects of life, from personal relationships to career goals. Depending on the time of a certain day, they can determine the best time to take important decisions and conduct crucial actions.

In addition, Panchang provides valuable information to astrologers. A good Panchang is an indispensable tool for the Vedic Astrologer (Jyotishi) which they need to refer in order to determine their predictions of key occurrences and events.

Panchang is also useful to an individual to ascertain the best time for major undertakings. It can be used to decipher the auspicious times for specific activities such as pooja (ritual-prayer), register a new business, inaugurate an importance place such as home or office and so on.

In olden days, people would traditionally start the day by reading the panchang for that day in the morning… to determine specific times for their daily activities.

In our modern context, we can utilize the power of Panchang along with a scheduling application to strategize and plan our key endeavors in a way that can benefit us to the maximum extent.
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We all know the effect moon has on our body and our surroundings. Right from high tidal waves to higher blood pressure have been linked with the moon’s motion. So, by referring to the Vedic panchang, we can harness this power of daily lunar transit to time our activities in a strategic manner to increase our chance of accomplishment and success. ​

The word Kali indicates time, which Ma Kali represents as the very first of the ten wisdom goddesses (Dasha Mahavidyas), what needs to be understood is that Kali also means “that which is carefully measured out”.​

Any work of creation is accomplished by the conglomeration of carefully measured out smaller bits (of work, of efforts, of actions and so on) and this is what Ma Kali represents.

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If one is to do a simple search on the internet about Panchak Yoga, you will find many websites that give this information and more. There are some which explain ALL the terrible things that can happen if one is to conduct certain activities during the Panchak phase and then there are others that give remedial ideas. BUT the key is why does this Panchak phase exist? And what does it really mean?

Nakshatras like Revati and Dhanishta which are very auspicious otherwise in terms of worldly gains… why do we not perform auspicious activities when moon is traversing them? Though there are no authoritative shastras that explain this scenario, we can gain some insight into it from the basics of Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) itself!

When we consider the Kaal-Purush kundali, which is arrived at by considering Aries as the ascendant and indicates the natural positioning of the various houses. For the Kaal-Purush kundali, we find that the zodiac signs of Aquarius and Pieces fall in the 11th and 12th house respectively.

It is believed that the astrological houses 1 thru 10 are meant for this material world and that the houses 11th and 12th indicate our spiritual journey. That is the reason why we think of 11th house as the gains that we acquire from our work in this world (1 thru 10th house). 11th house also indicates our journey into the cosmic waters of Pieces in the 12th house. 

Now, moon indicates the progression of our Mann (loosely translated in English as the mind… though from the Yogic perspective, it encompasses much more than that) … Moon is also the storehouse of our Causal Body as indicated in Ayurveda and hence is also the dispenser of our karmas! If you have not read my article about  our 'many bodies' then, so check out:    Our Numerous "Bodies" (Understanding Karma & Karmic Clearing series)

When moon in transiting the last two spiritual houses of Aquarius and Pieces, would indicate a time when we should withdraw our energies from the material pursuits and instead focus on our spiritual self. This would be the time when we should focus on our spiritual progress and wellbeing. Instead if one is to continue with their material activities and pursuits, then it is but natural that they will not attain success, as the time would not be conducive for such mundane, material activities.

That would also explain why it is only the last two padas of Dhanishta nakshatra which is included in the Panchak Yoga, since the first two padas of Dhanishta fall in the zodiac sign of Capricorn and would be in the 10th house of the Kaal Purush Kundali.

Our Rishis were very scientific in their approach. Time was truly understood and best utilized to help us lead a successful life… materially as well as spiritually. That is the reason, our Rishis explained to us about time periods like the Abhijeet Kaal where we can take up material activities for positive, beneficial results and then there are also phases like the Panchak Kaal when we are better off refraining from worldly activities and instead should focus on our spiritual practice.

We are all familiar with Ekadashi fasting. But did you know that it is related to Goddess Ekadashi? Goddess Ekadashi originated from Lord Vishnu to crush the demon Mur, who was trying to kill the sleeping Vishnu!

Goddess Ekadashi is honored as one of the protective powers of Lord Vishnu.    We do the fasting  as a way to show our honor and respect to Goddess Ekadashi.

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