Aligned with the lunar calendar, the Svasthani Vrata is a month-long devotional observance currently underway in Nepal. Dedicated to the enigmatic Hindu goddess Svasthani Devi—whose name means “Goddess of One’s Own Place”—Svasthani Vrata centers on fasting, ritual bathing in holy rivers, ethical reflection, and the recitation of the Svasthani Vrata Katha, or the “Story of Svasthani’s Observance.” Particularly popular among Nepalese women, the observance is believed to fulfill wishes and ensure longevity and prosperity for oneself and one’s loved ones. In her earliest known imagery, Svasthani Devi appears as a form of Parvati, the cosmic consort of the great Hindu god Shiva. While not a direct depiction of Svasthani Devi, this image showing Shiva and Parvati in an affectionate embrace closely reflects these early iconographic conventions. Later representations, however, depict Svasthani Devi in a more tantric manner: a stand-alone goddess encircled by wrathful mother goddesses, or Matr...