Vrata

Vrata (Sanskrit: व्रत) means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to the practice of austerity, particularly in matters related to foods and drinks, as part of a pious observance or prayers seeking health, fertility, long life or happiness for her loved ones.

Derived from the root ‘vr’ ("will, rule, restrain, conduct, choose, select"), the word is found over 200 times in the Rigveda. It is also found in other Vedic literature including the Upanishads, but the context suggests that the meaning of the word in the Vedic era was not as a personal pious observance, and instead was related to ṛta and dharma, in the sense of inner principles and universal laws that keep order in the cosmos. Every man's vocation, as in hymn 9.112.1 of the Rigveda, is called his Vrata. Thus, whatever profession one is devoted to, resolves to do his best in, is deemed Vrata in the Vedic literature. The act of sacrifice, in another context such as in hymn 1.93.8 of the Rigveda, is also called a Vrata.

The post-Vedic texts use the term as a form of self-imposed restrictions on food and behavior, sometimes with a vow. The concept evolves as a form of religious votive rite, personalized and interiorized, one that does not need a public ceremony or a private one, but that is privately observed. Its meaning retains a sense of personal sacrifice (fast, or restricted diet), in exchange for hope, accompanied with a prayer to a personally defined or cherished divinity, and propelled by the wish for the well being of one's loved ones. The Grihya-sutras (domestic life manuals), the Puranas and the epics describe the practice particularly in the context of Vedic students, brahmins, and women, as "devotion, solemn vow, holy practice, resolve, dedication".