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Full Description
The Swasthani Vrata Katha is the most widely read, recited, and listened-to devotional text among Hindu laity in Nepal. Originating in the late sixteenth century, the Swasthani tradition encompasses three interrelated elements: the goddess Swasthani, revered as the goddess of "one's own place"; the goddess's story (katha) and its annual recitation; and the month-long ritual vow (vrat) undertaken by women to honor Swasthani. Today, the Swasthani blends widely circulating Hindu myths—featuring Shiva, Sati, and Parvati—with local folk narratives that reflect women's everyday hardships and the worldly and spiritual rewards of fulfilling one's dharma and devotion to Swasthani.
This textual and ritual practice devoted to the goddess Swasthani centers women's roles, expectations, and responses and has significantly shaped Nepali Hindu identity and practice for both women and men. In Nepal, the Swasthani holds cultural, religious, and social significance comparable to the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics elsewhere in the Hindu world. Its characters—Goma, her son Navaraj, and his wife Chandravati—similarly offer a familiar local cultural vocabulary through their trials and triumphs.
This book presents the first full-length scholarly English translation of this important text from the original Nepali. As Parvati once brought Swasthani's story from the divine to the human realm, this translation brings it from Nepal to a broader English-speaking audience.
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Note on Transliteration
PART ONE / INTRODUCTION
A Secret Vow to the Goddess
PART TWO / The Swasthani Vrata Katha
Synopsis of the Swasthani Vrata Katha
Detailed Chapter Outline
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
PART THREE / RITUAL TEXTS AND PRAYERS
The Swasthani Vrata Katha / Original Sanskrit Verses
Pujavidhi / Ritual Instructions
Devi Stuti / Hymn to the Goddess
Pushpanjali / Concluding Floral Offerings and Mantras
PART FOUR / TEXTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Swasthani Texts Consulted for This Translation
Narrative Illustrations from Early Printed Swasthani Books
Appendix A: Queen Mother Goma's Words of Advice
Appendix B: Shakti Piths in the Swasthani Vrata Katha
Glossary
Index
