In ancient India, there once ruled a mighty and charitable king. He would help the poor and Brahmins every day. This behavior of the king did not sit well with his queen. She neither gave charity to the poor nor worshipped the gods and would often forbid the king from giving in charity.
One day, when the king had gone hunting in the forest, the queen was alone in the palace. At that time, Lord Brihaspati (Guru), disguised as a saint, came to the palace to ask for alms. He requested charity, but the queen refused and said,
“O Saint, I am tired of all this charity and religious merit. My husband keeps wasting all our wealth. I wish our wealth gets destroyed — no bamboo, no flute!”
The saint replied,
“Devi, you are very strange. Everyone desires wealth and children. Even the house of a sinner should have sons and Lakshmi (wealth). If you have excess wealth, feed the hungry, build water stations for the thirsty, open shelters for travelers, help poor families marry off their daughters. These deeds will bring you fame in this world and the next.”
But the queen was unaffected by his advice. She said,
“O Maharaj, do not try to teach me. I do not want such wealth that I have to keep distributing everywhere.”
The saint then said,
“If that is your desire, then so be it! Do this — on Thursdays, clean the house, wash your head with yellow clay, and wash clothes using the stove. Doing this will destroy all your wealth.” Saying so, the saint disappeared from there.
Following the saint’s advice, after just three Thursdays, the queen lost all her wealth and prosperity. The royal family began to starve.
One day, the king told the queen,
“O Queen, you stay here. I shall go to another kingdom, because everyone here knows me and I cannot do small work.” Saying this, the king left for a foreign land. There, he began cutting wood from the forest and selling it in the town to make a living.
Back home, the queen and her maid grew very sorrowful after the king left.
Once, when they had gone without food for seven days, the queen told her maid,
“O maid! My sister lives in a nearby town. She is very wealthy. Please go to her and bring some help so we may survive.”
The maid went to the queen’s sister.
That day happened to be a Thursday, and the queen’s sister was listening to the story of Brihaspati Vrat. The maid conveyed the message from her queen, but the sister did not respond. The maid received no reply and became sad and angry. She returned and told everything to her queen. Hearing this, the queen cursed her fate.
Meanwhile, the sister thought to herself,
“My sister’s maid came, but I did not speak to her. She must be hurt.”
After completing the story and worship, she came to her sister’s house and said,
“O sister! I was observing Brihaspati Vrat. Your maid had come to my house, but during the story, we neither speak nor move. That is why I did not respond. Now tell me, why had your maid come?”
The queen replied,
“Sister, what should I hide from you? We don’t even have food grains to eat.” Saying this, her eyes welled with tears. She narrated in detail how she and her maid had been hungry for the past seven days.
Her sister said,
“Sister, Lord Brihaspati fulfills everyone’s wishes. Look, maybe there is some grain left in your house.”
At first, the queen didn’t believe her, but on her sister’s insistence, she sent her maid inside, and to their surprise, the maid found a pot filled with grains. She was amazed.
The maid said,
“O Queen! When we don’t get food, we fast. So why don’t we ask your sister about this vrat (fast) and its procedure so we too can observe it?”
The queen asked her sister about the Thursday fast.
Her sister explained,
“On Brihaspati Vrat, worship Lord Vishnu at the base of a banana tree using gram dal (chana dal) and munakka (raisins), light a lamp, listen to the vrat katha (story), and eat only yellow-colored food. This pleases Lord Brihaspati.”
She explained the entire process and returned home.
Seven days later, Thursday came again. The queen and her maid observed the fast. They brought gram and jaggery from the stable and performed puja at the banana tree to Lord Vishnu. But they were saddened about where they would find yellow food.
Since they had observed the fast, Lord Brihaspati was pleased. Disguised as an ordinary man, he gave two plates of beautiful yellow food to the maid. Delighted, the maid brought the food to the queen, and both ate together.
After that, they began observing the Thursday vrat regularly. With Lord Brihaspati’s blessings, they regained their wealth and prosperity. However, the queen again began to get lazy, just like before.
The maid said,
“O Queen! Earlier, you were lazy and found it difficult to manage wealth, which is why you lost everything. And now, when Lord Brihaspati has given back wealth, you are becoming lazy again.”
She continued,
“After so many hardships, we have regained this wealth. So now we must engage in charity and meritorious acts. Feed the hungry, spend wealth in good deeds — this will bring fame to your family, grant you heaven, and please your ancestors.”
Listening to the maid, the queen started spending her wealth in noble deeds. Her fame spread throughout the kingdom.
After the Brihaspati Vrat Katha, one should perform aarti with devotion. Then distribute and partake in the prasada.
