Anant Chaturdashi Vrat
अनंत चतुर्दशी व्रत
The Anant Chaturdashi Vrat (अनंत चतुर्दशी व्रत) is kept on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada in honour of "Anant" — the endless, eternal form of Lord Vishnu. Devotees worship Vishnu, tie a sacred fourteen-knotted thread (the Anant Sutra) on the arm, and listen to the vrat katha of King Vasudeva and the Pandavas. The same day is Ganesh Visarjan, the grand farewell of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Fasting Rules & Vidhi
Bathe in the morning, wear clean clothes and take a Sankalp to keep the Anant vrat.
Worship Lord Vishnu as "Anant" — set his image on a kalash, offer yellow flowers, tulsi, fruit and sweets.
Prepare the Anant Sutra — a cotton/silk thread dyed with turmeric and tied with fourteen knots; place it before the Lord and worship it.
Read or listen to the Anant Chaturdashi Vrat Katha, recite the Vishnu Sahasranama and chant "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" 108 times.
Tie the consecrated Anant Sutra on the right arm (men) or left arm (women), praying to Anant for protection and prosperity.
Keep a fast through the day (fruits/milk or one satvik meal), break it after the puja, and offer fourteen of each item where possible.
Significance & Story
Anant means "the endless one" — the infinite Lord Vishnu, reclining on the endless serpent Ananta-Shesha. The fourteen knots of the Anant Sutra represent the fourteen lokas (worlds) pervaded by him and the fourteen years the Pandavas, who had lost everything, regained their fortune by keeping this vrat on Krishna's advice. The thread is a bond of faith in the Lord's endless protection. As Anant Chaturdashi is also Ganesh Visarjan, many immerse the Ganesh idol the same day with "Ganpati Bappa Morya".
Anant Chaturdashi Vrat Katha (Vrat Story)
In ancient times there lived a sage named Sumantu, whose virtuous daughter was named Sushila. In time she was given in marriage to the great sage Kaundinya. As the newly-wed couple journeyed home, they came upon a group of women on a riverbank worshipping Lord Anant — the eternal, endless form of Vishnu — and keeping the Anant Chaturdashi fast. Sushila asked about the vrat, and learning of its power to bring lasting prosperity, she too kept the fast that day, worshipped Anant, and tied the sacred fourteen-knotted Anant Sutra upon her arm.
By the glory of the vrat, the home of Kaundinya soon overflowed with wealth and happiness. But one day, his pride swollen by riches, Kaundinya noticed the yellow thread on Sushila's arm and imagined it to be some charm she had tied to keep him in her power. In anger he tore it off and cast it into the fire — and so dishonoured Lord Anant.
From that day their fortune drained away; wealth, cattle and peace all departed, and misery filled the house. At last Kaundinya understood that his disrespect to Anant had brought this ruin upon him, and he set out into the forest, resolved to find the Lord or give up his life. Wandering in despair, on the very point of death, he was met by an old Brahmin who took him by the hand — and revealed himself as Lord Anant in his four-armed form, bearing conch, discus, mace and lotus.
The Lord forgave the repentant sage and bade him keep the Anant vrat with devotion for fourteen years. Kaundinya did so, and all his lost fortune was restored, greater than before. It is this same vrat that Lord Krishna later counselled the Pandavas to keep when, having lost their kingdom, they regained it after fourteen years. So devotees keep the Anant Chaturdashi vrat and tie the fourteen-knotted thread, trusting in the endless protection of Lord Anant.