All the wives of Deities harassed by the battle between the Deities and the demons prayed to Shrīmahālakshmī. Appeased by the prayer,Shrīmahālakshmī vanquished the demons on Ashṭamī, that is, the eighth day of Bhādrapad and relieved the Deities of the danger. In the memory of this incident and for the protection of their husbands by Shrīmahālakshmī, the women perform the vrat of Jyēshṭhagouri on the day of Shukl Ashṭamī of Bhādrapad.
Spiritual reason underlying invocation of Gouri
The spiritual science underlying the invocation of Shrī Gouri (Goddess) is the welcome of the Deity of Knowledge and the supernatural powers which accompany Shrī Ganēshji and to surrender to them with a sense of gratitude. Shrī Gouri is invoked to conserve the frequencies of energy generated in the house by the worship of Shrī Ganēshji. The worshipper gets the benefit of these frequencies with the worship of Shrī Gouri. Science underlying invocation of Shrī Gouri during the pre-determined time According to the Scriptures, the time of invocation of Shrī Gouri is pre-determined. Shrī Gouri is to be invoked during that time only. The principle of a specific Deity comes on Earth in higher proportion during a specific time. On invocation of the Dēvī Principle in the time pre-determined by the Scriptures, the principle is attracted at the venue of the worship in higher proportion and the family members get its benefit for a longer period. Method of Jyeshtagouri Vrat Shrī Gouri is installed on the Mūl constellation that comes after Rushipanchami. This vrat is observed for three days. On the first day, when Shrī Gouri is invoked,replicas of the Holy Feet of Shrī Gouri are drawn on the main gate and everywhere in the house. For this turmeric powder-vermilion or rangolī is used. In some regions, Dēvī is ceremoniously installed on the first Friday of the month of Shravaṇ. On the day of Gouripūjan that comes afterShrīganēshpūjan in the month of Bhādrapad, Jyēshṭhagouri is ceremoniously installed. In some regions on the day of Shrī Gouri invocation, women worship the Deity of Water, that is, Jaladēvatā near the source of water. Akalash, that is, a copper pitcher is filled with water and the leaves of mango tree, champak tree etc. are placed in it. Five stones are also put into it and the kalash is worshipped. This is also called ‘Gangagouri’. On the second day, Shrī Gouri is worshipped and offered ‘mahānaivēdya’. On the third day, Shrī Gouri is immersed in flowing water. Married women are invited to the home as per convenience on one of the three days for the ceremony of haldī-kumkum. Spiritual experience – While taking darshan of the consecrated Shrī Gouri, experiencing one Shrī Gouri in a saviour form and the other in a destroyer form and being advised by Shrī Gouri in the saviour form to do sādhana with full dedication: On 2ndAugust 2006, during Gouripūjan when I took darshan of Shrī Gouri, I experienced one Shrī Gouri in a saviour form and the other in a destroyer form. Shrī Gouri in the saviour form said, “Get detached from the materialistic world, that is, Māya and do sādhana with full dedication”. She told me this same thing 3-4 times. At that time, my spiritual emotion was awakened and I began to go into a meditative state.
