Noli Nom Vrat - 2016

 Noli Nom / Nori Nom Vrat - 2016

* The Noli Nom Vrat is also known as Nori-Naum / Nori-Nem Vrat.

* This vrat is observed in the month of Sravana on the ninth day (Navmi) of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) in Gujarati Sawan month.
*  Noli Nom Vrat is observed by childless couples during the Shravan month in Gujarat. 
* On the Noli Nom day, the husband and wife fast from morning to evening. At night they take food together.
The Vrat is continued annually on the same day till the couple gets a child.
* Women observe this vrat for the welfare of their children.
* Noli is taken from the word 'Nevla' or 'Mongoose' and Nom means 'Navam' or 'Ninth'.

* This year the Noli Nom will be celebrated on Friday, 12 August, 2016.

Procedure / Vidhi:
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* On this day women get up early in the morning.
* After taking morning bath and wearing clean clothes, worship the image of a mongoose.
* Usually a Brahmin is asked to make a murti of a mongoose (Nevla) from the flour of juvar corn and turmeric (haldi).
* Place the murti on a baajat (square stool / chauki) for puja.

Ingredients for the puja include:-
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* Mung beans,
* Juvar,
* Baajari and
* Unhusked grains.
* These are offered to the mongoose (Nevla).
* Thereafter these ingredients are given over to theBrahmin. Charity is an important element of this vrat and therefore, according to means, give to Brahmins and to deserving charities.

Food:-
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* The woman observing this vrat usually would include in her meals mung beans and grams (chana).
* Roti can be made from chana flour or Mung beans flour.
* Unhusked pulses can also be used for meals.
*  The lady narrates or listens to the tale of Noli (mongoose).

  Katha of Noli-Nom Vrat:
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There was a poor Brahmin. His wife was full of faith and devotion displaying lots of spirituality. She had unswerving faith in the gods and goddesses. She had become a mother and loved her infant child more than her own life. She used to observe the Vrat of Noli-Nom with full devotion.

One day her infant child was sleeping in the cot. She went to the village well to fetch water for her house. Her husband had gone to the temple. Thus her infant was left alone in the house. Just then a black snake slowly descended from the roof of the house and climbed upon the cot. The infant in the cot was awake with an innocent smile on the face. The snake kept staring at the infant and then raised its hood in preparation for striking the infant.

Within a fraction of a second, before the fangs of the snake can deliver its deadly poison to the infant's  feet, a mongoose caught hold of the snake and removed it from the cot.

Just then the infant’s mother returned to the house. She saw the mongoose and the snake and immediately realised what had happened. Her vrat of Nori-Nom was rewarded. Devata had come as a mongoose to save the life of her child.

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