Hindu week days 5a.

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5a. Thursday

 

This story is connected with Thursday Fast.

 

Devotees listen this story before breaking their fast. They also worship

Bruhaspathi Mahadeva or Jupiter. They wear yellow clothes and shower

yellow flowers. Meals with yellow colour are preferred. Women worship

the banana tree and water it. Food items are made with yellow-coloured

cow's ghee.

 

Once there was a rich man. He had a big palace. His wife was always busy

with household matters. One day a sadhu came to his house. The rich man

was away. His wife was busy with some work. The sadhu said, " 0, kind

lady, I am hungry. Will you give me something to eat? " The lady

said, " Today is Thursday. I am busy cleaning my courtyard. Come on

some other day when I am free " . The sadhu went away empty-handed. He

visited her house again on another day and said, " O, kind lady, I am

hungry. Will you give me something to eat? " The lady was a miser.

She said, " I am arranging bath for my grandson. I am not free. Come

on some other day.

 

The sadhu again went away empty-handed. He visited her house again for

the third time. She repeated her words and said, " You always visit

when I am busy. You are not a wise sadhu " . The sadhu said humbly,

" Will you give me something to eat if you are free on some day? "

The lady answered, " I will definitely give you something to eat if

lam free. The problem with me is that I am never free. Is there some way

out for me? Tell me the way " .

 

The sadhu smiled and said, " Yes, there is a way out " . " What

it? " asked the lady. The sadhu said, " Get up late on every

Thursday morning. Do not clean your kitchen before cooking meals. Put

the cooked meals behind the hearth. Wash your hair and clothes on every

Thursday. Ask your husband to get himself shaved on this day " .

Telling this the sadhu disappeared and the lady followed his

instructions. The rich man's family became poorer and poorer. They

could hardly afford meals for one time.

 

The sadhu came again and said, " O, kind lady, I am hungry. Will you

give me something to eat? " The lady said, " I am very poor these

days. I have nothing to spare for you. I have nothing to do throughout

the day " .

 

The Sadhu said " when I visited you last, you were very busy. You

gave me nothing to eat under the pretext that you would give me

something when you were not busy. Today you are free; still you are not

giving me anything. I doubt your intentions " , and he disappeared.

 

The lady said to her husband, " We are in great difficulty. Think of

something for the livelihood " . The man said, " It is better to

beg outside rather than resorting to robbery or stealing etc. I shall go

to some far off place for business " . The lady agreed. Before

departure, the man advised his wife, saying, " Always keep the water

pitcher full of water. It should never be empty. Let the hearth-fire

burn day and night. It should never be put out " .

 

And with these words, the businessman left his house. The lady tried to

follow her husband's advice. Incidentally, one day the hearth-fire

got extinguished. The lady felt sorry and asked her maid to go to the

neighborhood and fetch some charcoal fire. The maid went to the

neighborhood but returned very late. The lady said, " Why are you so

late? I have been waiting for you all along " .

 

The maid begged pardon and said, " Our neighbor is a rich lady. She

keeps fast on every Thursday and listens to Thursday story. I joined her

and listened to the story. Please excuse me for being late " . The

lady said, " I also used to keep fast on Thursdays. We, too, were

very rich those days. Hence onward, I shall also observe this fast " .

 

The lady observed Thursday fast continuously for seven weeks. She wore

yellow sari, took some gram pulse on her palm and listened to the story

of Bruhaspathi. Bruhaspathi was pleased with her devotion. He appeared

before her as a sadhu and said, " Lord Bruhaspathi wants to oblige

you. You can ask for any favour " .

 

The lady said, " I am very poor. Let our wealth and property be

restored to us " . The sadhu said, " Let it be! " And he

disappeared immediately. The lady continued with the Thursday fasts for

another seven weeks. The sadhu again appeared on the seventh Thursday

and said, " O, gentle devotee, Lord Bruhaspathi is pleased with your

devotion. He wants to oblige you. You can ask for any other favour. He

will fulfill your desire " .

 

The lady said, " Lord Bruhaspathi has restored our wealth and

property. But these possessions are useless without my husband " .

 

The sadhu said, " Your husband will return soon " and he

disappeared. The businessman had a dream. Some sadhu said to him,

" You are rich now. Your wife is waiting for your happy return " .

The businessman woke up and decided to return home. He was at a far off

place and it took him a couple of months to reach home.

 

When the businessman neared his village, he enquired about his wife

well-being from a women fetching water from the village well. One of

them said, " Your wife is enjoying a happy and rich life. A sadhu

visits her house every Thursday. He is very kind to her " . The

businessman got suspicious about his wife fidelity. Incidentally, it was

Thursday. He thought of keeping a watch on her. When he reached his

house, a sadhu came out of the door. The businessman caught hold of him

and said, " Who are you? Why do you visit my wife in my absence? I

will kill you " .

 

The sadhu said nothing but simply smiled. In the meanwhile, his wife

also came out and said, " Please do not kill him. He has helped me

during our days of trial " . The businessman got more suspicious. He

pulled out his sword and attacked the sadhu. To his great surprise, his

sword turned into a wooden one. For a few seconds, he stood bemused, but

soon realised his mistake. He fell on the sadhu feet and begged his

pardon. He also came to know that the sadhu was no one else but Lord

Bruihaspathi himself.

 

Thereafter, the husband and wife observed Thursday fast regularly and

for a long time lived a happy life.