Santoshi Mata is a Goddess of Satisfaction, as her name suggests. Santoshi literally means ‘the one who is satisfied’. She promotes peace and prosperity. Devotees do a Vrat (fasting) for 16 consecutive Fridays to gain her favor. Although she has no basis in the ancient Hindu Puran(s), she was popularized as a Goddess specifically after a movie got released in her honor. She is especially worshipped in North India by the women to fulfill their wishes and dreams. As Santoshi Mata is said to satisfy the dreams of all devotees, she was named after the meaning.
Story of Santoshi Mata
After Kshem and Labh were born to Ganesh’s wives Riddhi and Siddhi, they saw their aunt Jyoti who was tying a thread around Ganesh’s right wrist and got countless gifts in return. They got curious and asked their father of the reason behind tying a thread to receive gifts.
Ganesh patiently explained them about why Raksha Bandhan festival is celebrated, saying that the thread is no ordinary thread but a bond that strengthens the relationships between brothers and sisters. The 2 brothers understood the importance behind it all and wished to have a sister of their own.
Hence, to fulfill their wishes, Ganesh emitted a bright light that merged with the radiance of his wives Riddhi and Siddhi. This omnipotent light took the form of a little girl, the sister of Kshem and Labh. She loved her brothers and happily tied a Rakhi thread around her brother’s right wrists.
In return, she received jaggery and chickpeas. The little girl was satisfied with the gifts and didn’t ask for anything else from the brothers. Thus, she was consequently named Santoshi.
Santoshi Mata Family
Santoshi Mata’s family consists of her father God Ganesh, mothers Riddhi and Siddhi, and brothers Kshem and Labh. While she is not a true Goddess, she is worshipped like one due to her prowess for wish-granting skills.
Worship of Santoshi Mata
Worship of Santoshi Mata is done on Fridays along with Goddess Lakshmi and the God of Venus. With the help of online puja booking services, now everyone can perform this in their own homes without the trouble of having to go outside. People offer the prayers and perform the Vrat of Santoshi Mata to get their boons granted.
Benefits of worshipping Santoshi Mata
- Achieve tremendous happiness and peace.
- Boost love throughout the household of the worshippers.
- Increases prosperity and wealth of the devotees.
- Fulfills every honest wish of the devotees.
- Brings satisfaction in the lives of devotees & loved ones.
Santoshi Mata Vrat Katha
The Santoshi Mata Vrat Katha starts from an old woman and her seven sons. 6 of them were very hard- working, but one of them was lazy. Every time the old woman would feed the 6 sons and whatever would be the leftovers, she would then feed the 7th son. However, he was unaware about this and innocent, so he bragged about it one day to his wife. The wife, who knew the truth, informed him about it but the son said he didn’t believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.
The wife laughed and told him to find out the truth. The son faked an illness, and lay in the kitchen with a thin cloth over his eyes, through which he could see everything. He saw the 6 brothers come in to eat and his mother served them various delicacies lovingly. Once they were done with the food, they left. The mother took the leftover food from all their plates and set up a new plate, then called the youngest son to eat.
He watched everything through the cloth and refused the food, saying that he’s going out of the country for work. He went to his wife and told her about everything, then said that he is going abroad to work. The wife told him to go in peace. They exchanged mementos in the form of a ring from the husband and a handprint on the shirt from the wife. The husband left and earned a lot of money abroad. While at home, the wife was mistreated by the family and wasn’t given much food or water even though she worked the hardest.
She was very sad, but still worked hard. One day, while she was working, she met a group of women who were performing the Santoshi Mata Vrat. She went and asked about the process and benefits of doing so. The women told her all about it and the wife went home to start preparing for the Vrat. Friday came and she fasted as she had been told, making the goddess pleased with her. To grant her wish, she went to her husband and comes in his dream to inform him about his wife’s condition at home.
The husband packed his bags and set off for home immediately with all the wealth he has amassed. The wife was happy upon knowing it and they went off to live separately. Since her wish was fulfilled, she wanted to do the Udyapan. After getting the husband’s permission, she set off to gather everything and asked the sons of her brother-in-laws to come have food at her home. The sister-in-laws taught their sons to ask for sour food at her home to spoil the Udyapan. The sons ate at her house and did what their mothers asked, but the wife rejected it.
Then, they asked for money. She innocently gave it to them. They went on to buy tamarind and ate it. Seeing this, the goddess became very angry and the husband was taken away by the King’s guards. The wife was sad and begged the goddess to resolve her situation, as she didn’t know where she went wrong. Santoshi Mata informed her about her mistake and told her to do it again properly to resolve the situation. The wife went home and called 8 Brahmin’s sons to have Prasad at her house.
The Udyapan was completed successfully and the husband returned, saying they had only wanted him to pay his taxes since he returned from abroad. The wife began worshipping Santoshi Mata daily in the temple. One day, the goddess wanted to visit the wife’s house and took on a fearful form. Seeing her, the brothers at her in-laws house turned her away in fear.
But the wife, upon seeing her, gladly worshipped her and invited her to her house. Seeing this, the in-laws realized their mistake and asked for forgiveness. The Goddess forgave them all and blessed them. Book online puja services if you want to conduct the Santoshi Mata Vrat Katha at your home.
Santoshi Mata Vrat
Since the Vrat is kept for 16 consecutive Fridays, the fast is kept for religiously with the regular processes. The devotee wakes up early, takes a bath, worships the Goddess and eats only the prescribed items for 1 meal. They are not allowed to eat anything sour and the prasad offered to the Goddess consists of jaggery and gram.
Once the wish is fulfilled, the Udyapan is performed. This is performed only when the wish of the devotee has come true, and until then, the fast is to be continued every week. If you are stuck in confusion about how to do the Vrat yourself, book online temple services so that one of our experienced pandits will guide you through the whole process and also tell you the Vrat Katha.
What Can We Eat In Santoshi Mata Vrat?
Here’s what you can eat when you’re performing the Santoshi Mata Vrat.
- Sabudana Khichdi
- Fruits which are not sour.
- Milk.
- Water.
These foods are what you should eat when you’re breaking the fast.
- Chana Dal
- Jaggery
Here is what you cannot eat during the Santoshi Mata Vrat.
- Sour food
- Achar
List of Famous Santoshi Mata Temple
- Santoshi Mata Temple, Secunderabad
- Santoshi Mata Temple, Koti Hyderabad
- Santoshi Mata Temple, Hyderabad
- Kutbi Guda, Kachiguda, Hyderabad
- Shri Santoshi Mata Temple, Bilaspur
- Shri Santoshi Mata Mandir, New Delhi
- Shri Santoshi Mata Temple, Ahmedabad
- Shri Santoshi Mata Temple, Gandhinagar
- Shri Santoshi Mata Mandir, Kinnaur District
- Santoshi Mata Temple, Bangalore
- Shree Santoshi Mata Ji Mandir, Mumbai
- Santoshi Maa Temple, Mumbai
- Shri Santoshi Mata Mandir, Mumbai
- Shri Santoshi Mata Temple, Bhubaneswar
- Santoshi Maa Temple, Bhubaneswar
- Maa Santoshi Temple, Bhubaneswar
- Maa Santoshi Temple, Bolangir
- Pragat Santoshi Maa Temple, Jodhpur
- Jai Santoshi Mata Temple, Tiruverumbur
- Santoshi Mata Mandir, Lucknow, Up
- Santoshi Mata Mandir, Uttarakhand
- Santoshi Maa Mandir, Kolkata
Also Read:- Krishna Janmashtami: The Birth of a God