Hal Sashti is an important festival in the traditional Hindu calendar. It is dedicated to Lord Balaram who is an elder brother of Shri Krishna. Lord Balaram is the seventh child of Mata Devaki and Vasudev Ji. The festival of Hal Shasti is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Balaram.
Balaram Jayanti is celebrated after the six days of Raksha Bandhan and Shravan Purnima. It is known by different names in other states like in Rajasthan it is known as Chandra Shastri, in Gujarat as Randhan Chhath and in Braj region as Baladev Chhath. Lord Balaram is also worshipped as an avatar of Adhishesha, the serpent which Lord Vishnu rests.
Generally, Hal Shasti is celebrated highly in the farming communities or rural areas as compared to urban areas in India. The rituals are mainly followed by the women in the Indian families. On this day, Women wake up early in the morning and start the preparation of Hal Shastri Puja. After the puja, devotees also perform Lord Balaram’s vrat Katha. Women folks keep a fast and restrict to eat anything throughout the day for the long life of her male child. It is observed that women do not even take a fruit or a small meal all day long.
In Mahabharata, Devi Uttara took the advice of Lord Krishna for well being of her male child and had performed fast and puja to recover her destroyed womb. From that time, the Hal Shasti festival is being celebrated for the betterment of the male child.
In the ISKCON temple, the birth anniversary of Lord Balaram is celebrated on Shravan Purnima (on the same day of Raksha Bandhan). There are many other places where Bhajan kirtan and Katha of Lord Balaram has been worshipped such as Mathura, Vrindavan, Brajbhumi and Shri Krishna Mandir.
| Related Name | Hal Sashti, Lalahi Chhath, Baladeva Chhath, Randhan Chhath, Hal Chhath, Har Chhath, Chandan Chhath, Tin Chhathi, Tinni Chhath |
| Begins Tithi | Bhadrapada Krishna Shashthi |
| Reason | Birth Anniversary of Lord Balaram |
| Celebrations | Bhajan Kirtan |
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श्री दुर्गियाना मंदिर @Amritsar, Punjab
रुक्मणी मंदिर, द्वारका @Dwarka, Gujarat
श्री राम मंदिर, विवेक विहार @Vivek Vihar, New Delhi
