Rohini Vrat 2022 : The Significance, Dates and Story of the Day

Date of Rohini Vrat for the year 2022

How Rohini Vrat is celebrated

Rohini Vrat is usually celebrated continuously for three, five, or seven years and should be ended with the Udayana. On the very auspicious day of Rohini Vrat, women ensure that they wake up early in the morning and take a shower before placing an idol or a picture of the Jain deity Vasupujya in a sacred spot at home.

After that, a grand Puja is performed with all the proper rituals, in which the idol of the Jain Deity Vasupujya is bathed with holy water and offered Prashad. As the grand Puja comes to an end, the women begin with the fasting, which lasts till the rising of the Mrigashirsha Nakshatra.

How to Worship on the day of the Rohini Vrat

The Rohini Vrat is a very important practice that most women in the Jain community follow. Therefore, it is essential that all the rituals of the day are followed properly. Hence we have brought you the right way to practice the Rohini Vrat. So let’s take a look at the procedure.

Make sure that you wake up early in the morning Take a bath with some clean water and then wear tidy clothes.
Now properly place the idol of the Jain Deity, Vasupujya in a sacred spot at home.

After placing the idol, perform a puja dedicated to the Lord and worship by offering fruits, flowers, and clean clothes. In the end, also offer Naivedya.

When the Puja is over, donate food or clothes to the poor and needy at your convenience.

Significance of Rohini Vrat

Fasting on the auspicious day of Rohini Vrat brings several benefits to the devotee. Women who wish for a long and fulfilling life for their husbands fast on this day. The Rohini Vrat also helps bring prosperity, happiness, peace, and unity to the family. It is also believed that worshiping Rohini on this day can take away all the problems in life like poverty, sadness, and other sorrows. There are many beliefs related to the Rohini Vrat such as – if the women in Jain families fast with full dedication and devotion, then peace and positivity shall remain in the house.

Story of Rohini Vrat

In ancient times, there was a king named Madhava who used to live with his wife Lakshmipati in Champapuri. They had a daughter and 7 sons. King Madhava was worried about his only daughter Rohini’s marriage, so he decided to approach astrologers. The astrologers predicted that his daughter Rohini would get married to the prince Ashok of Hastinapur. After learning this, King Madhava organized a Swayamvara for Rohini in which she chose Ashok as her husband.
Once Shri Charan Muni arrived in Hastinapur. After hearing the news of his arrival, king Ashok along with his whole family planned to visit him. King Ashok wanted to ask Charan Muni a question, which he agreed to answer. He asked the Muni about his queen Rohini and why she was always so calm and silent?
Then the sage told him a story:
In the same kingdom of Hastinapur, there was a king named Vastupala who ruled the kingdom. Vastupala had a friend named Dhanamitra.
Dhanamitra had a daughter who used to have a foul smell coming from her body, due to which he would always be worried about her marriage. One day he thought of a solution and decided to lure his friend Vastupala with dowry and got his daughter married to his son. After a month of marriage, the girl’s husband left her after getting annoyed by her foul smell. At the same time, a sage named Amritsen arrived at the kingdom of Hastinapur. Dhanamitra along with his daughter went to visit him to find a solution for his daughter’s problem. The sage told Dhanamitra that his daughter, in her previous life, was the queen of King Bhupal in a village near Girnar mountain and her name was Sindhumati.
One day king Bhupal was wandering around in a forest with his daughter, Sindhumati. He then saw a sage there and asked Sindhumati to arrange some food for him and went ahead in the forest. She didn’t feel like welcoming him and got very upset to take efforts to do all that for the sage. In anger, she decided to take revenge on him and mixed bitter Tubika in his food. After eating the food, the sage felt immense pain due to which he died right there.

After learning this, the king abandoned his queen Sindhumati and she was cursed with leprosy for committing the grievous sin of killing the sage. After years of suffering in pain, she was descended to hell after her death. In this life, she was reborn as Dhanamitra’s daughter with a foul smell.
Dhanamitra asked the sage for a solution in order to put an end to her suffering in this life and asked the sage if there is any ritual that could help get rid of her foul smell. The sage told them that there is a solution which is to observe the Rohini Vrat. She should fast every month on the rise of the Rohini Nakshatra, without eating all the four types of ailments and while fasting, she should also worship with full devotion and dedication. She should also donate to the poor and needy if she’s capable. In this way, if she fasts for 5 years and 5 months, she can be freed from the curse.
She did as the sage suggested and observed the fast diligently with all the proper rituals and finally attained heaven after death. She was then reborn as Rohini and became the queen of King Ashoka.

After that Ashok asked the sage Charan Muni about himself and his past life, the sage told him that in his previous birth he belonged to the Bhil caste and committed a similar sin as Sindhumati. He tortured a sage very badly for which he was cursed in his next life and was born with deformed

History of Rohini Vrat

Lord Mahavir left everything behind including his royal life, his family, and kingdom to live an ordinary life in the search of spiritual awakening and continued to live the life of an ascetic. Throughout his life, he taught people to follow the path of truth and non-violence. He strongly advocated non-violence due to which he was declared the founder of Jainism. Before Lord Mahavira, there were twenty-three holy men called Tirthankaras or pathfinders who also lived like ascetics, this is why Mahavir is also known as the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. Lord Mahavira strongly advocated that when a person has no greed for worldly pleasures and materialistic things, he can attain enlightenment.

Conclusion

Now that we know all about the Rohini Vrat, it’s time to celebrate the day and observe the fast. We hope that this article helped you understand all about the rituals and the history of the Rohini Vrat. We wish you all the best and hope this day brings happiness and prosperity to your life.