{"product_id":"the-swasthani-vrata-katha-jessica-vantine-birkenholtz-9780197553442","title":"The Swasthani Vrata Katha: A Secret Vow to the Goddess","description":"\u003cem\u003eThis is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Swasthani Vrata Katha\u003c\/em\u003e (The Story of the Ritual Vow to the Goddess Swasthani) is the most widely read, recited, and listened to devotional text among Hindu laity in Nepal. Originating in the late sixteenth century, the Swasthani tradition refers simultaneously to the \u003cem\u003eSwasthani\u003c\/em\u003e story (\u003cem\u003ekatha\u003c\/em\u003e) and its annual recitation, the accompanying month-long ritual vow (\u003cem\u003evrat\u003c\/em\u003e) women undertake to honor the goddess Swasthani, and Swasthani herself, the goddess of \"one's own place.\" The \u003cem\u003eSwasthani\u003c\/em\u003e story is a collection of widely circulating Hindu myths about gods, demons, and divine dalliances that forefront Shiva, Sati, and Parvati but it is also a local folk story about women's real and everyday hardships, as well as the rewards of attending to one's dharma and devotion to Swasthani. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThese traditions center women's roles and expectations and have actively contributed to the construction of Nepali Hindu identity and practice. In Nepal, the \u003cem\u003eSwasthani \u003c\/em\u003ecarries the same social, cultural, and religious importance of the epics \u003cem\u003eRamayana \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/em\u003e elsewhere in the Hindu world. It similarly provides a pervasive local cultural vocabulary through the familiar trials and triumphs of its characters: the mother Goma, her daughter-in-law Chandravati, and their son\/husband Navaraj. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book offers the first full-length scholarly English translation of this important text from the original Nepali. Just like Parvati made the goddess Swasthani and her story known beyond the realm of the gods to the human realm, so, too, this translation makes them known beyond Nepal to a broad English-speaking audience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,Alaka Atreya Chudal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0197553443\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780197553442\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 344\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48066699493631,"sku":"9780197553442","price":99.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_36ce39a7-30b3-4c65-aaae-1a548cfd195c.jpg?v=1768679958","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-swasthani-vrata-katha-jessica-vantine-birkenholtz-9780197553442","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}