The katha of the milkmaid
In a village lived a milkmaid whose time to give birth was near. She had milk and curd to sell. She thought that if the baby came the milk would not be sold, so she hurried out to sell it.
On the way she went into labour and gave birth behind a jharberi (wild jujube) bush. Leaving the baby there, she went to the village to sell the milk. That day was Hal Shashthi, and the women keeping the vrat took only buffalo milk. The milkmaid sold cow's milk, saying it was buffalo milk.
Meanwhile a farmer was ploughing his field near the bush. The blade of his plough struck and hurt the baby. Frightened, the farmer stitched the baby's wound with jharberi thorns and left.
When the milkmaid returned and saw the baby hurt, she understood it was the fruit of her deceit. She went to the village, told everyone the truth and asked forgiveness. The women forgave her and blessed her. When she returned she found the baby healthy.
Vrat niyam
Hal Shashthi is the jayanti of Balaram ji, whose weapon is the plough. So on this day food grown on ploughed land is not eaten — pasahi (tinni) rice, mahua and buffalo milk and curd are used. Mothers keep this vrat for the long life of their children.
This is OmKiran Bhakti's retelling of the traditional katha in simple English; details of the katha vary slightly from region to region.