Shloka 1
The Kātyāyanī-vrata, the Stealing of the Gopīs’ Garments, and Kṛṣṇa’s Teaching on Purified Desire
श्रीशुक उवाच हेमन्ते प्रथमे मासि नन्दव्रजकुमारिका: । चेरुर्हविष्यं भुञ्जाना: कात्यायन्यर्चनव्रतम् ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca hemante prathame māsi nanda-vraja-kumārikāḥ cerur haviṣyaṁ bhuñjānāḥ kātyāyany-arcana-vratam
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, in the first month of winter the unmarried young girls of Nanda-vraja observed the vow of worshiping Goddess Kātyāyanī, and for the entire month they ate only haviṣya—simple, unspiced khichrī.
The word hemante refers to the month of Mārgaśīrṣa — from approximately the middle of November to the middle of December, according to the Western calendar. In Chapter Twenty-two of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments that the gopīs “first ate haviṣyānna, a kind of food prepared by boiling together mung dāl and rice without any spices or turmeric. According to Vedic injunction, this kind of food is recommended to purify the body before one enacts a ritualistic ceremony.”
FAQs
It is a vow observed by the young girls of Vraja in winter, centered on worshiping Goddess Kātyāyanī while following a simple, regulated diet (haviṣya), as part of their devotional observance.
He introduces the devotional practice that sets the stage for the ensuing Krishna-līlā, showing the focused, disciplined worship undertaken by the Vraja maidens.
Sincere devotion is strengthened by disciplined practice—simple living, regulated habits, and steady worship aimed at spiritual goals.