śrī-śuka uvāca hemante prathame māsi nanda-vraja-kumārikāḥ cerur haviṣyaṁ bhuñjānāḥ kātyāyany-arcana-vratam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.1
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: During the first month of the winter or pre-winter frost, the young unmarried vraja-kumāris observed the vrata of worshiping Kātyāyanī-devī. For the whole month they ate only haviṣyānna.]āplutyāmbhasi kālindyā jalānte codite ‘ruṇe kṛtvā pratikṛtiṁ devīm ānarcur nṛpa saikatīm gandhair mālyaiḥ surabhibhir balibhir dhūpa-dīpakaiḥ uccāvacaiś copahāraiḥ pravāla-phala-taṇḍulaiḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.2–3
[My dear King, after they had bathed in the water of the Yamunā just as the sun was rising, the gopīs made an earthen deity of Kātyāyanī-devī on the riverbank. Then they worshiped her with both simple and opulent aromatic substances, such as sandalwood pulp, and with other items, including ghee lamps, fruits, betel nuts, freshly sprouted leaves, and fragrant garlands and incense.]kātyāyani mahā-māye mahā-yoginy adhīśvari nanda-gopa-sutaṁ devī patiṁ me kuru te namaḥ iti mantraṁ japantyas tāḥ pūjāṁ cakruḥ kumārikāḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.4
Each of the young gopīs performed her worship while chanting the following mantra: “O Kātyāyanī-devī, O great power of the Lord, O possessor of great mystic potency and mighty controller of everything, please make the son of Nanda Mahārāja my pati. I offer my obeisances unto you.” 𝗦́𝗿𝗶̄𝗹𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝘃𝗶 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝘃𝗮̄𝗺𝗶̄ - 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗵𝗶-𝗽𝘂̄𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗺̇ 𝗸𝗮̄𝘁𝘆𝗮̄𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗶̄ 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶̄-𝗽𝘂̄𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗺 The gopīs set the excellent pūjā items on the sandy white banks of the Yamunā, which glistened like camphor powder. They chose a clean, quiet place for pūjā. It was a secluded location, undisturbed by the wind, and free from the contamination of Yamunā foam and the footprints of birds and animals. Desiring to make a murti of goddess Kātyāyanī out of sand, the highly qualified gopīs spoke in sweet voices, resembling the soft cooing of cuckoos. One gopī said, “O my friends! We have never observed the Kātyāyanī-vrata. Before initiating this auspicious act, we should remove the evil elements from the atmosphere. Are we going to conduct the worship individually or all together? Let us decide in such a way that we do not end up with a disaster. With faith and intelligence, we should take decision.” Another sakhī said, “We should do the pūjā all together in a group. To perform pūjā separately is not good. Worshiping together will be more beneficial.” The experts in pūjā chanted sweet verses, praising Kṛṣṇa’s attributes, while offering handfuls of fragrant flowers to a murti of Kātyāyanī molded from sand. Seeing the elegant murti, the gopīs felt that Bhagavatī Kātyāyanī herself had appeared in that murti. The gopīs thought, “How fortunate we are to perceive goddess Bhagavatī, even though we have not yet installed the deity.” Feeling that they had satisfied Devī Kātyāyanī, the gopīs felt elated. This strengthened their determination to execute the vow. To properly please Kātyāyanī, the gopīs did manasī-pūjā of the murti before commencing the worship. While concealing the confidential desires within their hearts and controlling their minds, the gopīs silently fetched water from the Yamunā. The gopīs kept Kṛṣṇa locked inside their hearts like a precious treasure. After washing their hands and doing ācamana, they sat down on kuśa āsanas. Fixing their minds in the mode of goodness, the gopīs silently worshiped Kātyāyanī.prabha-viṣṇor-mahā-viṣṇoryoga- śaktis-tvam-uttamā bhāsi kartum-akartuṁ ca ’anyathā kartum-apīśvarī (44)
“You are called Yogamāyā, the potency of Mahā-Viṣṇu, who possesses all energies. You have the power to do the impossible.parāt paratare! kṛṣṇapare! parama-vaiṣṇavī! paropakāra-parame! parameśvari! te namaḥ (48)
“You are expert in worshiping Kṛṣṇa, and you are the supreme Vaiṣṇavī. O Parameśvarī! O supreme goddess! You always engage in the welfare of others. We pay our respects unto you."𝑆́𝑟𝑖̄ 𝐴𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎 𝑉𝑟̣𝑛𝑑𝑎̄𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝐶𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑢, 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 12 – 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑝𝑖̄𝑠
“𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐩𝐢̄𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐊𝐚̄𝐭𝐲𝐚̄𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢̄, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐊𝐚̄𝐭𝐲𝐚̄𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢̄ 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐚̄𝐲𝐚̄.”𝑆́𝑟𝑖̄𝑙𝑎 𝐵ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑𝑎̄𝑛𝑡𝑎 𝑆𝑣𝑎̄𝑚𝑖̄ 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑏ℎ𝑢𝑝𝑎̄𝑑𝑎 𝐶.𝐶. 𝑀𝑎𝑑ℎ𝑦𝑎-𝑙𝑖̄𝑙𝑎̄ (8.90) 𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡