Research Paper
Fasting for husband’s long life: A study of Hindu women living in Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City, Kailali District
Fasting has been undertaken for spiritual or religious reasons throughout history. No matter what, whether it is “Teej,” “Sarwan-Brata” “Karva-Chauth” or any other special occasion, a Hindu woman fasts for her husband to live long. Fasts “Vrata” or “upavasa” is a centuries-old tradition observed annually in Nepal, and girl children follow their mother’s and grandmother’s footsteps without questioning the matters of fact. For fasts, usually, Hindu women wake up before dawn to begin a fast at sunrise, take a bath, put on clean clothes, not eat or drink until evening. For a long time, I was constantly preoccupied with the question of fasting and did not get a rational answer, so I have decided to explore why Hindu women pray for love and long lives for their husbands in Nepal? Does fasting extend the life of the husband? To know the proper answer, I had been through religious scriptures, reviewed scientific research articles, interviewed a few priests and women who have fasting experience. Based on research findings, fasting for the husband may or may not bring longevity to the husband’s life, but scientific research articles reported that fasting is good for detox and builds health and immunity for those who are fasting. In addition, not eating is the key to losing weight. Based on statistics from 2009 to 2019, the life expectancy at birth for women in Nepal was about 72.21 years, and the life expectancy at birth for men was about 69.26 years on average. The concluding remark is that fasting for a husband’s long life may or may not extend the husband’s life, but it extends the healthy life of those who fast.
Published by: Giri Bahadur Sunar
Author: Giri Bahadur Sunar
Paper ID: V8I1-1355
Paper Status: published
Published: February 15, 2022
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