"A long
long time ago, there lived a beautiful princess by the name of Veeravati.
When she was of the marriageable age, Veeravati was married to a
king. On the occasion of the first Karva Chauth after her marriage,
she went to her parents’ house."
"After
sunrise, she observed a strict fast. However, the queen was too
delicate and couldn’t stand the rigours of fasting. By evening,
Veeravati was too weak, and fainted. Now, the queen had seven brothers
who loved her dearly. They couldn’t stand the plight of their
sister and decided to end her fast by deceiving her. They made a
fire at the nearby hill and asked their sister to see the glow.
They assured her that it was the moonlight and since the moon had
risen, she could break her fast."
"However,
the moment the gullible queen ate her dinner, she received the news
that her husband, the king, was dead. The queen was heartbroken
and rushed to her husband’s palace. On the way, she met Lord
Shiva and his consort, Goddess Parvati. Parvati informed her that
the king had died because the queen had broken her fast by watching
a false moon. However, when the queen asked her for forgiveness,
the goddess granted her the boon that the king would be revived
but would be ill."
"When the
queen reached the palace, she found the king lying unconscious with
hundreds of needles inserted in his body. Each day, the queen managed
to remove one needle from the king’s body. Next year, on the
day of Karva Chauth, only one needle remained embedded in the body
of the unconscious king."
"The queen
observed a strict fast that day and when she went to the market
to buy the karva for the puja , her maid removed the remaining needle
from the king’s body. The king regained consciousness, and
mistook the maid for his queen. When the real queen returned to
the palace, she was made to serve as a maid."
"However,
Veeravati was true to her faith and religiously observed the Karva
Chauth vrat . Once when the king was going to some other kingdom,
he asked the real queen (now turned maid) if she wanted anything.
The queen asked for a pair of identical dolls. The king obliged
and the queen kept singing a song " Roli ki Goli ho gayi...
Goli ki Roli ho gayi " (the queen has turned into a maid and
the maid has turned into a queen)."
"On being
asked by the king as to why did she keep repeating that song, Veeravati
narrated the entire story. The king repented and restored the queen
to her royal status. It was only the queen’s devotion and
her faith that won her husband’s affection and the blessings
of Goddess Parvati."
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