Bahulā Chaturthī 2024

Bahulā Chaturthī, widely known in Gujarat as Bol Choth (Bol Choth), falls on the fourth day of the dark fortnight (Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa) of Śrāvaṇa, a few days before Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī, and is dedicated to the cow and calf, Bahulā being the name of the legendary cow at the center of the day's core story.

The observance is Sāyaṅkāla-vyāpinī: it is anchored to whichever day the Chaturthī tithi prevails during Sāyaṅkāla, the last three muhūrtas before sunset, since the day's central rite, worship of the cow and calf, is traditionally performed in the evening.

The central legend concerns a cow named Bahulā, who was grazing in a forest with her calf when a lion approached, intent on devouring her. Bahulā pleaded for a brief reprieve to feed her calf one last time and bid it farewell, promising to return afterward to be eaten. Moved by an unlikely trust, the lion agreed. True to her word, Bahulā returned to face her fate. Astonished by her honesty and devotion, the lion, revealed to be a manifestation testing her virtue, spared her life instead. The story is told to mothers and daughters as an exemplar of truthfulness, maternal devotion, and self-sacrifice.

In Gujarat, Bol Choth is observed primarily by mothers, who fast through the day and refrain from consuming milk, curd, or any dairy product drawn from a cow that day, out of respect for the cow's own milk being reserved for her calf. In the evening, women worship a cow and her calf, offering grass, water, and prayers for the wellbeing and long life of their own children, before breaking their fast.