Bahula Chaturthi 2023

Bahula Chaturthi, widely known in Gujarat as Bol Choth (બોળ ચોથ), falls on the fourth day of the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) of Shravana, a few days before Krishna Janmashtami, and is dedicated to the cow and calf, Bahula being the name of the legendary cow at the center of the day's core story.

The central legend concerns a cow named Bahula, who was grazing in a forest with her calf when a lion approached, intent on devouring her. Bahula 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, Bahula 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.

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