Significance
Hartalika Teej is a strict, often waterless (nirjala) fast observed by married and unmarried women for marital happiness and a devoted husband. It commemorates Parvati's severe penance to win Lord Shiva as her spouse.
The name comes from harat (abduction) and aalika (friend) — recalling how Parvati's friend spirited her away to meditate.
Rituals
Women keep a day-and-night fast without food or water, fashion clay idols of Shiva and Parvati, and worship through the night with flowers, fruit and the Teej katha. New clothes, mehndi and bangles are worn; the fast is broken the next morning.
How the date is fixed
Hartalika Teej falls on the Tritiya of Bhadrapada Shukla paksha, the day before Ganesh Chaturthi.