Kartik Maas Ki Kahani: Budhiya Mai and the Khichdi Bowl

This is not a numbered chapter of the Kartik Mahatmya. It is a folk tale told from house to house after the Kartik bath: the story of Budhiya Mai and the bowl of khichdi.

Listen in the video: hear this story in Hindi on our YouTube channel. The full list is on the Kartik Mahatmya Katha page.

संक्षेप में: कार्तिक व्रत रखने वाली बुढ़िया माई की खिड़की पर रोज़ खिचड़ी का कटोरा मिलता था। पढ़िए यह घर-घर कही जाने वाली कहानी। पूरा लेख हिंदी में पढ़ें →

The story

In a village lived an old woman, Budhiya Mai. She had no one in the world, no son and no daughter-in-law, but she had great faith in God. Every year when Kartik came she kept the vow. She rose before dawn each day and went to the Ganga for her bath.

When she came home, a bowl full of khichdi would be waiting at her window. Lord Krishna himself left it there for her. She took the Lord's name, ate the khichdi and broke her fast. Years passed this way.

A woman next door could not bear it. The old woman has no one, she thought, so where does this full bowl come from every day? One day, while Budhiya Mai was at the Ganga and the Lord had left the bowl as usual, the neighbour quietly picked it up and threw it, khichdi and all, behind the old woman's house.

Budhiya Mai came back to an empty window and went hungry that day. After that she went about asking the same thing every day: where has my khichdi gone, and where has my khichdi bowl gone?

Where the khichdi had fallen, a plant grew and two lovely flowers bloomed on it, with a fragrance that spread far and wide. One day the king of that land passed by, liked the flowers, picked them and gave them to the queen. As soon as she smelled them, by the Lord's grace, she conceived. In time she gave birth to two handsome princes.

The princes grew up, but they would not speak to anyone, not even their mother or father. The king and queen lived in sorrow. One day the two went toward the forest to hunt, and on the way they met Budhiya Mai, still asking after her khichdi and her bowl. The princes who spoke to no one spoke at last. We are your khichdi, they said, and we are your bowl!

The news reached the king. He respectfully called Budhiya Mai to court and asked how his sons, who spoke to no one, had spoken to her. She told him all about her Kartik vow and the Lord's khichdi. Then the princes revealed the secret. The two flowers had bloomed from the khichdi that was thrown away, they had been born from those flowers, and the Lord himself had sent them for her.

The king touched Budhiya Mai's feet, honoured her greatly and kept her in his palace with respect for the rest of her life. From that day the princes spoke and laughed with everyone. The tale ends with its prayer: O Kartik Maharaj, as you heard Budhiya Mai, so hear all who keep your vow, and keep your grace on those who tell this story, those who hear it, and those who answer with a hunkara.

The teaching of this story

Budhiya Mai had nobody, and the tale says that she was still not alone. The Lord fed her himself.

The neighbour's jealousy took away one meal, but in this story even the thrown-away khichdi did not go to waste. It came back to the old woman as honour and care for the rest of her life. The tale asks only for faith and for the vow kept steadily, year after year.

Frequently asked questions

When is this story told?
In the month of Kartik, from house to house, after the bath.

Who left the khichdi at Budhiya Mai's window?
The tale says that Lord Krishna himself left it for her.

What did the neighbour do?
She quietly picked up the bowl and threw it, khichdi and all, behind the old woman's house.

Why did the princes speak only to Budhiya Mai?
They had been born from the two flowers that grew where her khichdi fell, and they said that the Lord had sent them for her.

What happened to Budhiya Mai at the end?
The king touched her feet, honoured her and kept her in his palace with respect for the rest of her life.

The Mahatmya katha: Adhyay 1 and 2: Gunavati and Satyabhama's Past Life