Mythological story to protect your child

Every mother cares about her child's safety. She makes various efforts for it, whether it is sacrificing her own career. She does fastings for her family and child. Many times, if she doesnot become mother she has to suffer various types of torture. Also  at times, there is a child, but the astrological charts indicate early death in childhood. With the remedies of astrology, mothers fast, worship, recite and take shelter of God. One such fast is Vratjeevatputrika Vrat.

Who should observe this fast: For the protection and long life of the son, mothers observe this fast. If the son has a short life span. Apart from this, those who have sons but do not survive also do this fast. A lot has been told about short life in astrology. If Venus, Jupiter and Mercury are in the 6th, 8th and twelfth house then Alpayu Yoga is formed. In Balarishta Yoga, it is possible to tell that the child will die in 2 years or in 8 years or 13 years. If the Moon is in the sixth, eighth or twelfth house as seen from the inauspicious planets, the child dies immediately after taking birth. The Moon sitting in 6th, 8th or 12th house and aspected by bad planets child dies within four years .It is said in the legend that on this day of fasting, King Jimutvahan, the very famous godman of ancient times, pleased Garuda with his sacrifice and succeeded in bringing back all the dead  descendants of Shankhchud to the earth.

Which deity is worshiped and what should be done during this fast: Worship Lord Suryanarayan. Offer bhog made of millet and gram. On the day of Ashtami, the fasting lady swallows some whole grains of urad early in the morning, which means that Lord Krishna is believed to have entered the stomach in its original form. Tie black or red colored Raksha sutra or thread around the neck of your sons. Donation of urad and wheat is said to be of great importance on this day. In the scriptures, eating cut fruits and vegetables is prohibited on the day of fasting. After offering curd chiuda, take out some portions for the animals and birds and then eat it yourself.

There are many stories of Mahabharata, and one of them is related to this fast. When the Mahabharata war ended, in the absence of the Pandavas, Ashwastthama along with his companions entered pandavs camps and killed many soldiers. Even Draupadi's sleeping sons were killed thinking them to be Pandavas. Arjuna followed Ashwatthama and imprisoned him. Ashwatthama was freed after having his head shaved. Ashwatthama was badly annoyed by this insult and got ready to destroy the seeds of the Pandavas. He took out his unfading weapon and threw it in the womb of Abhimanyu's wife Uttara. Lord Krishna came to the aid of the Pandavas. Taking a subtle form, he entered Uttara's womb and bore the unfading weapon on his body. The child born in Uttara's womb was saved. But when the son was born, he was very weak and inactive. Lord Krishna infused power in him. This son later became the future captain of the Pandava dynasty by the name of Parikshit. In this way, the fast which gave life to Parikshit was named 'Jivatputrika'.