Bahula Chauth is a Hindu festival celebrated on the fourth day (chauth) of the dark, or waning, half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada, the sixth month of the lunar year, which typically occurs between August and September, is a religious feast.
- On this day, moms undertake tasks related to their sons' well-being.
- They should avoid any physical activity as well as consuming wheat or rice (the staple food grains).
- Cows are not milked on this day as a symbol of letting mothers to care for their offspring, and their calves are allowed to nurse as much as they desire.
- Such maternal care for their sons reflects not just natural maternal instincts, but also the significance of male children in Hindu culture.
- Daughters leave their natal houses to live with their husbands' families, whereas sons bring their wives into the family home, at least in northern India, according to tradition.
- As a result, one's sons guarantee the family's continuation while also caring for their aging parents.
- Only sons may conduct the yearly shraddhas, or memorial rituals to the ancestors, but couples without natural sons can meet this criterion via adoption.
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