Yampukur Vrata

What it is

Yampukur Vrata is a vow, called a vrata in Bengali, taken up by Hindu girls in the villages of Bengal. It lasts a full month and is repeated for four years. The women who keep it do so without a priest and without mantras from scripture, because it is a vow of the household rather than one laid down in holy texts. The aim is stated plainly: those who keep it hope that their neighbours and their relatives will be spared suffering of any kind after death. It is kept at home, in a courtyard, or beside a pond or in a garden.

The pond and ghats

At the centre of the ritual stands a small square pond, made of about one square foot of soil, with four ghats, the steps or landings at its edges. Water is poured in. A Pituli alpana, a drawn design, lies on the southern side. Fish and mechuni are placed at the northern ghats, washermen at the eastern ones, and clay figures of crows, egrets, kites, crocodiles, turtles and sharks at the western ghats. A bundle of paddy, kalmi, shushni and hincha is planted in the middle, while kachu and turmeric grow on the bank.

The worship

Households gather what the vow needs first. There is paddy, banana and turmeric; mankachu, or giant taro; kalmi, shushni and helencha, which are water plants; betel nut; small clay figures; and some cowrie shells. Then, during the puja, a lamp is lit at each of the four corners of the pond, with a cowrie, a piece of turmeric and a betel nut beside it. Facing east, the women worship Yama with flowers. Lines are recited as water is poured on the pond, on the plants and before the figures.

What it means

The purpose set out for the vow is protection after death. Those who keep it hope that neighbours and relatives will be spared pain of any kind once they have died. Yama, the lord of death, is the figure worshipped, and the small pond with its plants and clay creatures is where that worship happens. The women keep the vow for four years, and each month of it ends with the story of its greatness.

Every fourth year

Each year the vow is kept in the same way. Every fourth year, though, the celebration is larger. Those who keep it give a kahana, a gift of eighty cowries, along with other donations, and four Brahmins are feasted. At the close of the puja the women also say a line of their own: that they are blessed as a sister of seven brothers, and that the lord of all looks on as they keep their Yampukur. With that, the ritual comes to an end.

How Yampukur Vrata is kept

Girls take up the vow for four years running. Each year, from the Sankranti of Ashwin through to Kartik's final day, they fast through the month. First the materials are gathered. A small square pond with four ghats is dug and filled, and plants and clay figures are arranged round it. A lamp, a cowrie, turmeric and betel nut go at each corner. Facing east, the women worship Yama with flowers, while lines are said over the water, the plants and the figures. The month closes with the tale of the vow's greatness.

When and where

The vow lasts one month each year. It starts at the Sankranti of Ashwin and finishes on Kartik's final day, which falls between mid-October and mid-November. Those who take it up repeat it for four years without a break, so the same month of fasting comes round again each autumn.

It is kept in the villages of rural Bengal, in West Bengal and in Bangladesh, by Hindu girls and women. The setting is domestic: a courtyard, the floor of a house, a garden or the bank of a pond. The vow and its figures are shared across the region rather than tied to one shrine or town.

What Yampukur Vrata means

The purpose set out for the vow is protection after death. Those who keep it hope that neighbours and relatives will be spared pain of any kind once they have died. Yama, the lord of death, is the figure worshipped, and the small pond with its plants and clay creatures is where that worship happens. The women keep the vow for four years, and each month of it ends with the story of its greatness.

On the table

Flavours: Turmeric

Questions people ask about Yampukur Vrata

See also

Night of PowerThe night Muslims believe the Quran first came down, sought in Ramadan's last ten nightsPretaOfferings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.NovenaA nine-day Christian prayer tradition for petitions, feasts, or mourning.Nativity of MaryA Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus

Good reading and sources

• Yampukur Vrata on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-14.