Vara Mahalakshmi Vratam
Mahalakshmi Vratam VaraLakshmi Vratam or Varamaha Lakshmi Vratam as it is called is a sacred vratam, performed by many women in the states of Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and also in some parts of Maharashtra and Orissa. The Hindu festival going by the name 'Vara Lakshmi Vrata' is celebrated on the last Friday of the bright fortnight in the month of Sravana, also called Sawan in Hindi, which corresponds to the English months of July-August. Stories behind this vratam The story goes that on one occasion, Parvati and Parameswara were engaged in a game of chess. Parvati was winning game after game, but Parameswara is said to have claimed the victory at each games, decisively, to her intense charging. So Parvati wanted to have an umpire and one Chitranemi, a creation of Parameswara, was chosen. As an underling of Parameswara, he sided with him most unjustly. This provoked Parvati's anger and she cursed Chitranemi that he should become a leper for dischargin...