Bengan Dashmi
What it is
Bengan Dashmi falls on Ashadh Sud Dasham, the day before Devshayani Ekadashi, and takes its name from bengan, the brinjal. It is the last day on which brinjal is offered to Shree Thakorji before Chaturmas: from the next morning, when the Lord withdraws into yoga-nidra, brinjal is set aside in seva and in many Vaishnav kitchens, and is not offered again until He wakes on Prabodhini Ekadashi in Kartak.
So the day is kept for what it closes rather than for anything it begins. Samagri of bengan is prepared for the bhog with a little extra care, because it is the last of its kind for four months, and the kitchen then turns to the lighter, plainer food of the monsoon.
Why we observe it
Chaturmas in Pushtimarg is not austerity for its own sake, and neither is this small farewell. A niyam means something set down for Prabhu, so that the space it leaves can be filled with seva and smaran. Bengan Dashmi gives that niyam a definite beginning, so the giving up is a decision made in front of Shree Thakorji rather than a habit that drifts into place.
It is also a very Pushtimarg way to cross a threshold. The calendar does not announce Chaturmas with a prohibition; it announces it with a last offering, made with the same attention as any other, and then four quiet months in which the kitchen keeps the vow along with the heart.