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Traditional story (retold)
Part 1: The Charitable King and the Queen
In ancient times there was a king. He was very charitable and righteous. Every day he gave to Brahmins and the poor, and on Thursday he kept a vrat and worshipped the Devaguru. The king's queen did not like all this. She neither kept any vrat nor gave to anyone. She would say to the king, "Why do you waste your wealth like this?"
Part 2: The Sage's Disguise and the Queen's Mistake
One Thursday, while the king had gone to the forest to hunt, Devaguru Brihaspati took the form of a sage, came to the palace gate and asked for alms. The queen said, "Mahatma, I am tired of all this charity and merit-making. My husband gives away all the wealth. Please tell me some way that all this wealth may be destroyed so that I can live in peace."
The sage said, "Your wish is strange. Still, do as you wish. On Thursday do not plaster the house with cow dung, do not wash clothes, and do not wash your hair. Ask the king to get a shave. Cook meat and liquor for the meal. By doing this your wealth will be destroyed." Saying this, the sage vanished.
Part 3: The Loss of Wealth and the King Going Abroad
The queen did exactly so. In a short time the king's wealth began to dwindle. There was even a shortage of food. The king said in sorrow, "Queen, nothing will come of staying here any more. I will go abroad and live by cutting wood. You stay here with your maid." The king went abroad. He cut wood in the forest, sold it and lived on whatever he got.
Part 4: The Sister's Teaching
Meanwhile the queen and the maid began to go hungry. They got food only once in seven days. One day the queen said to the maid, "Go to my sister's house and ask her for some grain." The maid went to the queen's sister's house. It was Thursday that day and the sister was listening to the katha. She did not answer the maid's words. Disappointed, the maid returned and told the queen everything.
The queen said in anger, "Look, even my sister did not help." But in the evening, after the katha was over, the sister herself came and said, "Sister, when your maid came I was listening to the katha, so I could not speak. Now tell me, what did you want to say?" The queen told her the whole situation. The sister explained, "All this is the result of neglecting the rules of Thursday. Keep the Thursday vrat, do the household work properly on this day and worship the banana tree. Devaguru will remove your troubles."
Part 5: The Return of Happiness Through the Vrat
The queen followed her sister's advice. From the next Thursday she kept the vrat with full discipline, worshipped the banana tree, offered chana dal and jaggery, and fed her maid too. Within a few days a change came in the king's life as well. In the forest he met a saint who told him of the glory of the Thursday vrat. The king too began the vrat from that day in the foreign land.
After some time the king earned a great deal from selling wood. He took the road back to his city. Meanwhile the queen had also continued the vrat. Devaguru Brihaspati was pleased and the king's splendour returned. When the king came back to the palace, the queen clasped his feet and asked his forgiveness for her mistakes. The king forgave her, and the two began to live happily again.
From that time the Thursday vrat became popular. Whoever keeps this vrat with faith and listens to the katha has poverty removed, obstacles to marriage cleared, and prosperity come to the home.
Thus ends the complete Brihaspativar Vrat Katha