చాతుర్మాస్య వ్రతము [Chaturmasya Vratham]

Chaturmas, inauspicious for weddings and other celebrations,[3] is a suitable time for householders to have an annual renewal of faith by listening to discourses on dharma, and by meditation and vrata (self-control). Penance, austerities, religious observances, recital of mantras, bathing in holy rivers, performing sacrifices, and charity are prescribed. Fasts and purity during this period help maintain health, for which there is likely a scientific rationale, disease spreading more readily with the onset of monsoon.