The month of Shravan is the fifth month of the Hindu calender and is the most auspicious month of the Chaturmas. On Purnima or fullmoon day, or during the course of the month the star Shravan rules the sky, hence the month is called Shravan.

This month is spread out with innumerably religious festivals and ceremonies and almost all the days of this month are auspicious. On this day of the Shravan full moon, stars are worshipped.

In Vedic times it was believed that the spirits of certain departed great sages of the earth inhabited certain stars, the most famous being the constellation Ursa Major i.e. the seven brightest stars of the north (The Great Bear).

Later, the seers became identified with the stars they inhabited. The seven worshipped on Rishi Panchami are - Kasyapa, Atri, Bharadvaja, Visvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Vashishta.

The fast on the fifth day(Panchmi) of the waxing moon (shukl paksh)of Bhadrapad is undertaken by men and women alike. Its effect is to wash away sins done voluntarily or involuntarily.

The devotee should after a bath in the sacred water, clean his/her hands 108 times, the mouth 108 times and listen to the story of Ganesh, Navagreh, Saptarishi and worship Arundhati. Fruits should be eaten only once in a day

A certain king Sitasale asked Brahma to tell him of a fast, which would bestow the quickest result. Brahma replied that Rishi Panchami fast was the one such by virtue of which all sins are washed away.

He narrated the story of a virtuous Brahmin Uttank of Vidharba region. His wife was a devoted wife Sushila. They had two children, a son and daughter. The daughter was married to a young capable boy, but unfortunately became a widow soon. The parents made a cottage on the bank of Ganga and lived there with their widow daughter. One day while asleep the ants covered the body of the daughter. The parents were perplexed. The Brahmin through meditation found out that in previous birth, she had entered the kitchen on the day of menstruation. It is believed that on the first day of menstruation, the woman is Candalini (demon), on second day Bhramdhatini (witch), on third day a washer woman, and on fourth day after bath, she becomes purified.

Women undertaking Rishi Panchmi fast do not suffer from attack of worms and in all future births remain happy.

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