This is a festival celebrated by the people following Hinduism and Jainism. This is one of the most sacred festivals that is celebrated among the people of this religion. The main Lord worshiped on this day is Lord Anant which refers to Lord Vishnu. On this day both the religions have different rituals to celebrate the festival. It is celebrated on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi that is the 14th day of the Bhadra month of Hindu calendar. This festival is celebrated every year on the same time and women and men celebrate this festival in search of divinity and wealth.
Ways of Celebration of the Anant Chaturdashi festival
This festival is observed by the people of two communities that is Jains and Hindus. On this day the Jains celebrate this as the vowing festival. On this day it is believed that the worshipper who takes a vow on this day has to keep his vow for 14 years. It is a festival where everyone has to keep a vow by tying a sacred thread in the hand for the 14 years.
This day also marks the end of Ganesh Chaturthi a Hindu festival. On this day the people who had set the Ganesh idol in their home bring it to the nearest water body and sub-merge it into it. During the course of road from home to the water body the devotees dance in front of idol while singing loudly. In this way the devotees departs Lord Ganesh to welcome him again next year with more enthusiasm.
In the Jainism tradition the devotees visit a nearby river to worship the lord. Later the snakes are worshipped with incense stick and oil lamps. The sacred thread covered with kumkum is kept infront of the god and later worn on the left hand by the women and on the right by the men. This thread is tied for 14 years to complete the vow in order to get divinity and wealth.
History behind the Anant Chaturdashi festival
There lived a Brahmin named Sumant and he had a daughter named Sushila from wife Diksha. After some time Diksha died leaving her husband and daughter alone. Later Sumant married Karkash and she started troubling Sushila. Kaundinya married Sushila and they both left the home to be saved from the ill treatment of her mother. On the way Kaundinya went to take a bath and Sushila joined a group of ladies near the river. They were performing some rituals which they explained Sushila about. It was the Anant vow and Sushila too decided to vow for 14 years. She tied the thread on her hand and went. Soon all became well in her life and her husband found out what the thread is for. Then she explained all about it but later Kaundinya failed to agree with her and took the thread and threw it in fire to burn. Bad days came back in their life and they became poor yet again.
Later Kaundinya decided to search for Lord Anant and decided to wander throughout the world in search of the Lord. After a great amount of search he lost all hopes and decided to die and took a rope to tie it on his neck, when a Brahmin came and saved him. After saving him the Brahmin took him to a cave where he found that the Brahmin was Lord Vishnu and he said that he had to take a 14 year vow to make all things well in his life yet again. This is the story which brought in the belief for the Anant Vow amongst the followers.