Santoshi Mata

                                                                     Santoshi Mata

Santoshi Mata or Santoshi Maa is a Hindu goddess, who is venerated as "the Mother of Satisfaction",^] the meaning of her name. Santoshi Mata is particularly worshipped by women of North India and Nepal. A vrata (ritual fast) called the Santoshi Maa vrata performed by women on 16 consecutive Fridays wins the goddess' favour.

Santoshi Mata emerged as a goddess in the early 1960s. Her prayer initially spread through word of mouth, vrata-pamphlet literature, and poster art. Her vrata was gaining popularity with North Indian women. However, it was the 1975 Bollywood film Jai Santoshi Maa ("Victory to Santoshi Maa")—narrating the story of the goddess and her ardent devotee Satyavati—which propelled this then little-known "new" goddess to the heights of devotional fervour. With the rising popularity of the film, Santoshi Mata entered the pan-Indian Hindu pantheon and her images and shrines were incorporated in Hindu temples. While the film portrayed the goddess to be the daughter of the popular Hindu god Ganesha and related her to the Raksha Bandhan festival, it had no basis in Hindu scriptures.

Vrata

The Santoshi Mata vrata or devotional fast is to be observed on 16 successive Fridays or until one's wish is fulfilled. The devotee should perform a puja (worship) of Santoshi Mata and offer her flowers, incense and a bowl of raw sugar and roasted chickpeas (gur-chana). The devotee wakes up at early morning, remembering the Goddess. Only one meal is taken during the fast day, and devotees avoid eating bitter or sour food and serving these to others, as sour or bitter food is somewhat addictive and hinders satisfaction. When the wish is granted, a devotee must then organise a udyapan ("bringing to conclusion") ceremony, where eight boys are to be served a festive meal.^[1]

In this type of worship, the devotee has to follow other strictures such as avoiding quarrels and hurting anyone. By means of this vrata one can live with harmony because the bad habits in human life like to ignore faith and to say false, to behave arrogantly can be removed. This vrata teaches the devotee to spread love, sympathy and happiness.