Vrata: Vows, Fasting and Austerity
What a vrata is, the Gītā’s three austerities of body, speech and mind, traditional fasting days, and who should not fast without individual advice.
Vrata and Fasting
A vrata is a vow kept for a set time: fasting on certain days, silence, extra prayer or simplicity of food and conduct. The Gītā describes austerity of the body, of speech and of the mind, and its account shows that the inner vow matters more than hunger. As a remedy, a vrata builds steadiness and self-control; fasting must suit one’s health.
Direct answers to common questions
What is a vrata?
A vrata is a religious vow kept for a set period with an intention: fasting on certain days, silence, extra prayer, study or simplicity of food and conduct. It is one of the oldest remedies in Hindu practice and builds self-control, steadiness and devotion through repeated, chosen discipline.
What is the Ekadashi fast?
The Ekādaśī fast is kept on the eleventh lunar day of each fortnight, twice a month. Many people avoid grains and beans that day, eating fruit, milk and roots, while others fast more strictly. It is dedicated to Viṣṇu and broken the next morning at the proper time.
Which fast is for which planet?
Jyotiṣa links weekday fasts with planets: Sunday with the Sun, Monday with the Moon, Tuesday with Mars, Wednesday with Mercury, Thursday with Jupiter, Friday with Venus and Saturday with Saturn. A reader may suggest one in a difficult period; the fast should always suit your health.
Who should not fast?
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, people with diabetes on medication, people with eating disorders, the frail elderly, children and anyone with a condition affected by food should not fast without individual advice. They can keep a vrata of silence, study, prayer or kind speech instead.
Still have a question about Vrata and Fasting? Ask in your own words; a teacher of the Peeth replies.
What the Shastra says
देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम् । ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च शारीरं तप उच्यते ॥
devadvijaguruprājñapūjanaṃ śaucamārjavam | brahmacaryamahiṃsā ca śārīraṃ tapa ucyate ||
Meaning: Honouring the gods, the twice-born, teachers and the wise; purity, straightforwardness, continence and non-violence — this is called austerity of the body.
— Bhagavad Gītā 17.14 · Sanskrit text: Bhagavad Gītā mūla — Swara Yoga Peeth Sanskrit-primary corpus (sanskritdocuments.org edition)
Austerity of the body: honouring teachers and the wise, purity, straightforwardness, continence and non-violence. Fasting serves these; it is not the whole of tapas.
अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत् । स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते ॥
anudvegakaraṃ vākyaṃ satyaṃ priyahitaṃ ca yat | svādhyāyābhyasanaṃ caiva vāṅmayaṃ tapa ucyate ||
Meaning: Speech that causes no distress, that is true, kind and beneficial, and the regular practice of sacred study — this is called austerity of speech.
— Bhagavad Gītā 17.15 · Sanskrit text: Bhagavad Gītā mūla — Swara Yoga Peeth Sanskrit-primary corpus (sanskritdocuments.org edition)
Austerity of speech: words that cause no distress, true, kind and helpful, and sacred study. A vrata of speech is open to everyone.
मनःप्रसादः सौम्यत्वं मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः । भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते ॥
manaḥprasādaḥ saumyatvaṃ maunamātmavinigrahaḥ | bhāvasaṃśuddhirityetattapo mānasamucyate ||
Meaning: Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-restraint and purity of feeling — this is called austerity of the mind.
— Bhagavad Gītā 17.16 · Sanskrit text: Bhagavad Gītā mūla — Swara Yoga Peeth Sanskrit-primary corpus (sanskritdocuments.org edition)
Austerity of the mind: serenity, gentleness, silence, self-restraint and purity of feeling. This is the inner aim of every vrata.
What a vrata is
A vrata is a chosen discipline kept with an intention, for a day, a season or a year. It may include fasting, but also truthful speech, silence, study, early rising or a daily act of worship.
Three austerities
Bhagavad Gītā 17.14–16 names austerity of the body (honouring teachers, purity, straightforwardness, non-violence), of speech (words that are true, kind and helpful, and sacred study) and of the mind (serenity, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, purity of feeling).
Traditional fasting days
Ekādaśī, the eleventh lunar day, is the best-known fast. Jyotiṣa links weekdays with planets: Monday with the Moon, Thursday with Jupiter, Saturday with Saturn. The Peeth’s pañcāṅga shows the lunar days.
Kinds of fast
A vrata may mean no food until evening, one simple meal, only fruit and milk, or giving up a single food. A lighter fast kept faithfully is worth more than a severe one that harms health or breaks halfway.
Who should not fast
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, people with diabetes on medication, those with eating disorders, the frail and children should not fast without individual advice. They can keep a vrata of speech, study or worship instead.
What research can and cannot say
Periodic fasting improves several metabolic markers in animal studies and shorter human trials, according to a major medical review. Long-term human evidence is limited and fasting is unsuitable for some people. Research does not test whether a weekday fast changes a planet’s influence; the Peeth teaches vrata as a discipline of body, speech and mind.
- de Cabo R, Mattson MP, New England Journal of Medicine 2019 — intermittent fasting, health, aging and disease (review). Periodic fasting improved metabolic markers such as insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and weight in animal studies and in a number of shorter human trials. Limit: A narrative review; long-term human evidence is limited, and fasting is unsuitable for some people (pregnancy, diabetes on medication, eating disorders) without individual advice.
How this connects to Swara Yoga
During a fast the breath and mind become more noticeable. Spend some of the freed time observing the nostril flow and sitting quietly; Swara practice turns the fast inward, as the Gītā’s austerity of the mind intends.
Using remedies wisely
Remedies are practices of discipline and devotion, not purchases that guarantee results. No remedy, and no treatment of any other kind, can guarantee an outcome, and no one should be frightened into paying for one. If anyone predicts disaster and demands money for a remedy, step back and ask someone you trust.
The Peeth suggests remedies only after a calm reading, beginning with conduct, mantra, giving and practice that cost little or nothing.
What is the right next step for you?
A consultation suits anyone who wants remedies chosen calmly for their chart, period of life and circumstances, beginning with practices that cost little or nothing. It does not sell guaranteed results, and no remedy is ever priced on fear.
Read next: Puja, Homa and Agnihotra
Swami Charanashrit Giri · Swara Yoga Peeth, Rishikesh
Frequently asked questions
Can I drink water during a fast?
Most vratas allow water, and many allow fruit, milk or a single simple meal. Strict waterless fasts are rare, demanding and unsafe for many people, especially in heat. Choose a form of fast that keeps you well; the tradition gives many lighter options.
How long should a vrata be kept?
Vratas are kept for a single day, for a number of consecutive weekdays such as sixteen Mondays, for a lunar month or for a season like Cāturmāsya. A reader may suggest a length tied to a difficult period. Choose a length you can keep faithfully.
What if I break a vow?
Breaking a vow through illness or necessity is not a sin to be feared. Tradition allows a vrata to be resumed, shortened or replaced, sometimes with a small act of charity or prayer. Health comes first, and fear of failure should never drive anyone into harm.
Is fasting good for health?
Research suggests that periodic fasting can improve some metabolic measures in healthy adults, but evidence on long-term effects is limited and fasting is not suitable for everyone. If you have a medical condition or take regular medicines, fasting must be prescribed for you individually; insulin doses, for example, change when meals are skipped.
What is a vow of silence?
Mauna, a vow of silence, is a vrata in which one stops speaking for a period, from an hour a day to many days. The Gītā counts silence among the austerities of the mind. It conserves energy, reduces reactive speech and deepens attention, and suits people who cannot fast.
How does Swara Yoga support a vrata?
A fast or silence makes the breath and mind more noticeable. Spending part of the day observing the nostril flow and sitting quietly turns the vrata inward. Swara Yoga also suggests beginning a vow at a favourable breath, joining intention with timing.
Sources
- Bhagavad Gītā and Yoga Sūtra — Sanskrit text in the Peeth’s library; Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra, ch. 84 (Graha-śānti).
- Agnihotra at the Peeth: Agnihotra homa and what research says about it.
- Bhagavad Gītā 17.14 — Bhagavad Gītā mūla — Swara Yoga Peeth Sanskrit-primary corpus (sanskritdocuments.org edition).
- Bhagavad Gītā 17.15 — Bhagavad Gītā mūla — Swara Yoga Peeth Sanskrit-primary corpus (sanskritdocuments.org edition).
- Bhagavad Gītā 17.16 — Bhagavad Gītā mūla — Swara Yoga Peeth Sanskrit-primary corpus (sanskritdocuments.org edition).
- de Cabo R, Mattson MP, New England Journal of Medicine 2019 — intermittent fasting, health, aging and disease (review).
Talk to the Peeth about Vrata and Fasting
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Taught in the lineage of Swami Charanashrit Giri · Swara Yoga Peeth Sansthan, Swargashram, Rishikesh · This page awaits Swamiji’s review · Practice is prescribed for each person, according to their condition.
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