Sawan 2022: Importance of the holy month and foods you should avoid while fasting

It is one of the holiest months for most Hindus as people worship Lord Shiva the whole month. They travel on foot, carrying the Kawad, and fill their pitchers with water from the river Ganga. Sawan or Shravan as it is popularly called is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar and often falls between July & August as per the Gregorian calendar. This year Sawan began on Ashadha Purnima on July 14 and ends on Shravan Purnima, which falls on August 12. (Images courtesy: Canva)

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In this month, Hindus and Shiva devotees celebrate Samudra Manthan, when Shiva swallowed the poison Halahal and stored it in his throat. Due to this, he came to be known as Neelkantha. The impact of this deadly poison was so severe that both the Devas and Asuras offered water to Lord Shiva from the Holy River Ganga to reduce its effect. As all these events took place during the Shravan Maas of Sawan, it is considered one of the important months.

It is said that one can get Lord Shiva’s blessings in their life if they observe fasts every Monday falling in the Sawan, which are popularly known as Shravan Somwar Vrat. Not just that, people also observe fasts on Tuesdays in this holy month, as they are devoted to Goddess Parvati who is the consort of Lord Shiva. It is also popularly known as Mangal Gauri Vrat and people do it to get the goddess’s blessings. Those who observe a fast during this holy month or worship Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvati are said to follow certain rules & regulations and must avoid certain foods. Here are some of them.

Consuming non-vegetarian foods means that you are eating living things, which is prohibited during the month of Sawan. So, any form of meat, eggs, chicken, or fish should be avoided during this holy month.

As per Hindu scriptures, brinjal is one vegetable that’s said to be impure and is considered unlucky for spiritual occasions. It is for this reason that one should avoid eating brinjal during the Sawan month.

It is considered sinful to consume liquor or alcohol in the month of Sawan as it attracts a lot of negative energies which can get into your mind and affect you in a bad manner.

It is said that these two vegetables are tamasic or hot, and are not good for the whole body. Therefore, one should consume satvik food that doesn't contain these two vegetables.

During the month of Sawan, certain spices are avoided while cooking food such as red chilli powder, coriander powder, and table salt. Only sendha namak along with green chillies, ginger and black pepper should be added to the food.