Guruvar, Thursday Vrat
Thursday, which is Brihaspatiwar or Vrihaspativar, is dedicated to
Vishnu and Brihaspati, the Guru of Devas.Thurdsay is also popularly known as
Gurubar or Guruvar.Lord Vishnu, Lord Dakshinamurthy,
Lord Dattatreya, or Shirdi Saibaba is worshipped on Thursdays.Many People visit
saibaba temple on this day.
There are numerous stories associated with the reason for observing Upvaas, or fast, on Brihaspativar. Many of the stories are part of local folklore and stories vary from region to region. Almost all stories suggest that those who perform pujas and Vrats on Thursdays will be blessed with wealth and happy life. In some stories, Lord Vishnu appears in the guise of a Sadhu to test the devotees on Thursdays. In other stories, it is Brihaspati. First the person in the story denies alms and is lethargic but later realizes his/her mistake and observes Thursday Vrat and pleases the Gods.
Things to do :
- Yellow
is the color of the day
- Devotees
fruits and flowers to Vishnu and Brihaspati.
- Food
is consumed only once,Chana Dal and Ghee is included.
Story :
Once Lord Indra, surrounded by many gods, Rishis,
Kinnaras and Gondharvas sat on his throne in a proudy mood. As guru Vrihaspati
reached there, all of them, except Indra, stood up to pay respect. Indra used
to pay obedience to his guru regularly but he showed discourtesy at that time.
Vrihaspati felt bad and left his palace. As Vrihaspati left the palace, Lord
Indra realized his mistake and repented over his action. He felt that all his
luxurious possessions were due to his guru blessings. And his anger will turn
it into dust.
Indra decided to go to Vrihaspati and tender apology for his action assuming that it may pacify his anger. He went to Vrihaspati. Vrihaspati intuited that Indra was coming to his Ashram. He avoided meeting out of anger and disappeared immediately. Lord Indra returned home disappointed. A demon god Vrishvarsha, sensed this situation and went to his guru Shukracharya. He begged his gum permission to attack Indrapuri, the kingdom of Lord India in those circumstances. Shukracharya permitted him. The demon god surrounded Indrapuri and made a sudden attack. In the absence of Guru Vrihaspati’s blessings, the gods lost all battles one after the other.
After their defeat, the gods went to Lord Brahma and related the whole story. Indra begged for safety and asked for some strategy. Lord Brahma said, “You have not done well by disgracing Vrihaspati. Anyways, go to Vishwaroopa the learned son of Twashta. Request him to become your priest. His blessings can save you”. They went to Twashta and sought his blessings. Twashta said, “By becoming your priest I do not want to lessen my virtues. But you go to my son Vishwaroopa. He will oblige you by accepting your request for priesthood”. All the gods went to Vishwaroopa and requested him to become their family priest for performing Yajna. He accepted their request.
By Vishwaroopa’s grace, demon Vrishvarsha was defeated and Lord Indra regained his kingdom. Lord Indra was happy. He implored Vishwaroopa to perform a special yajna for further gains. Vishwaroopa agreed. Vishwaroopa had three mouths. With one mouth he sucked the juice of Sompalli, a special creeper. From the second mouth he used to drink wine while the third mouth was used for eating meals. Vishwaroopa started performing Yajna. The demon gods were frightened. They thought a plan to undo the Yajna effects. One of the demon gods went to Vishwaroopa.
He implored, “Honorable Sir, do you know that you belong to demon genealogy from your mother side. Your mother is the daughter of a demon god. While performing Yajna kindly make some offerings in the names of demon gods for their happiness”. Vishwaroopa agreed to his request. He made some silent offerings to demon gods so that no one may hear it. The result was that the Yajna advantages were divided between deities and demon gods. When Lord Indra came to know the treachery, he beheaded Vishwaroopa in a state of extreme anger. One of his mouth from which he took wine, turned into a black bee. The second which he used for sucking Sompalli juice became a piglion while the third one used for taking meals was transformed into a partridge.
Lord Indra’s body was immediately deformed due to sacrilege, the murder of a Brahman. All the gods made repentance for one year but it had no effect on Indra. They approached Lord Brahma for some remedy to redeem Indra from the sacrilege. Lord Brahma, accompanied by Vrihaspati, went to Indra. He divided the sacrilege act into four parts. The first part was given to the earth. As a result the earth became uneven. Some of its portions became barren. But as a boon, he said that the earth would develop power to fill the khuds automatically. The second part of the sacrilege was given to the trees and as a result, they began to ooze gum.
But as a boon, he said that the gum of guggul - bdellium olibanum - will be treated pure and they would have the power to re-bud from their roots though their upper portion will be dried up. The third part of the sacrilege was given to the woman folk and so they experience menstruation. As a boon, he blessed them to the pure or chaste on the fourth day and capable to give birth to children. The fourth portion of the sacrilege was given to water. As a result, it is covered with aquatic plant or Shaivaal. As a boon, the object in which it is added gains weight. In this way, Lord Brahma freed Indra from the heinous crime by dividing it into four places. Who so ever reads or listens to this story is blessed by Vrihaspati.
Indra decided to go to Vrihaspati and tender apology for his action assuming that it may pacify his anger. He went to Vrihaspati. Vrihaspati intuited that Indra was coming to his Ashram. He avoided meeting out of anger and disappeared immediately. Lord Indra returned home disappointed. A demon god Vrishvarsha, sensed this situation and went to his guru Shukracharya. He begged his gum permission to attack Indrapuri, the kingdom of Lord India in those circumstances. Shukracharya permitted him. The demon god surrounded Indrapuri and made a sudden attack. In the absence of Guru Vrihaspati’s blessings, the gods lost all battles one after the other.
After their defeat, the gods went to Lord Brahma and related the whole story. Indra begged for safety and asked for some strategy. Lord Brahma said, “You have not done well by disgracing Vrihaspati. Anyways, go to Vishwaroopa the learned son of Twashta. Request him to become your priest. His blessings can save you”. They went to Twashta and sought his blessings. Twashta said, “By becoming your priest I do not want to lessen my virtues. But you go to my son Vishwaroopa. He will oblige you by accepting your request for priesthood”. All the gods went to Vishwaroopa and requested him to become their family priest for performing Yajna. He accepted their request.
By Vishwaroopa’s grace, demon Vrishvarsha was defeated and Lord Indra regained his kingdom. Lord Indra was happy. He implored Vishwaroopa to perform a special yajna for further gains. Vishwaroopa agreed. Vishwaroopa had three mouths. With one mouth he sucked the juice of Sompalli, a special creeper. From the second mouth he used to drink wine while the third mouth was used for eating meals. Vishwaroopa started performing Yajna. The demon gods were frightened. They thought a plan to undo the Yajna effects. One of the demon gods went to Vishwaroopa.
He implored, “Honorable Sir, do you know that you belong to demon genealogy from your mother side. Your mother is the daughter of a demon god. While performing Yajna kindly make some offerings in the names of demon gods for their happiness”. Vishwaroopa agreed to his request. He made some silent offerings to demon gods so that no one may hear it. The result was that the Yajna advantages were divided between deities and demon gods. When Lord Indra came to know the treachery, he beheaded Vishwaroopa in a state of extreme anger. One of his mouth from which he took wine, turned into a black bee. The second which he used for sucking Sompalli juice became a piglion while the third one used for taking meals was transformed into a partridge.
Lord Indra’s body was immediately deformed due to sacrilege, the murder of a Brahman. All the gods made repentance for one year but it had no effect on Indra. They approached Lord Brahma for some remedy to redeem Indra from the sacrilege. Lord Brahma, accompanied by Vrihaspati, went to Indra. He divided the sacrilege act into four parts. The first part was given to the earth. As a result the earth became uneven. Some of its portions became barren. But as a boon, he said that the earth would develop power to fill the khuds automatically. The second part of the sacrilege was given to the trees and as a result, they began to ooze gum.
But as a boon, he said that the gum of guggul - bdellium olibanum - will be treated pure and they would have the power to re-bud from their roots though their upper portion will be dried up. The third part of the sacrilege was given to the woman folk and so they experience menstruation. As a boon, he blessed them to the pure or chaste on the fourth day and capable to give birth to children. The fourth portion of the sacrilege was given to water. As a result, it is covered with aquatic plant or Shaivaal. As a boon, the object in which it is added gains weight. In this way, Lord Brahma freed Indra from the heinous crime by dividing it into four places. Who so ever reads or listens to this story is blessed by Vrihaspati.
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