Timing of the year : January end/February
Popular as :Vasant Panchami
The Festival
Sarawati puja or Vasant Panchami, the festival of goddess of
learning, is celebrated by Students, artists and professors. This
'Panchami' is also known as Saraswati Day, because it is believed
that on this day, goddess Saraswati was born.
Time of the year
The puja of Ma Saraswati is held at a time when the winter comes to
an end and spring begins. It is the time of the beginning of
'Basanta Kaal'. In this time of the year, the weather remains
fantastic. The weather is neither too cold, nor it is too hot. In
other words, it remains pleasant. There is no need to put on a
sweater, in our midst amidst this pleasant weather. So performing
the puja creates no problems at all.
The mythological History
In the Vedas, Saraswati was a water deity and was revered for
purifying, fertilizing and enriching powers. The next stage in
Saraswati's mythological history was her identification with the
holy rituals performed on the banks of river Saraswati. She is said
to have invented Sanskrit, the language of the Brahmins, of
scriptures and scholarship. It is also believed that it was her who
discovered soma or amrita in the Himalayas and brought it to the
other gods. Later myths diminished the powers of Saraswati. She was
said to be identical with Viraj, the female half or being created
out of the substance of Purusha or Prajapati and thus the instrument
of creation. As Brahma's wife, she provides the power to execute
what Brahma has conceived with his creative intelligence. She is the
goddess of all the creative arts and in particular of poetry and
music, learning and science.
Goddess Saraswati represents the union of power and intelligence
from which organized creation arises. Saraswati possesses all the
learning of the Vedas, scriptures, dancing, music and poetry. She is
wisdom, fortune, intelligence, nourishment, brilliance, contentment,
splendor and devotion. She is depicted as a gracefully seated or
standing goddess, holding a veena, a musical instrument, a rosary
and the scripture. The 'bahon' are the 'rajhansa' (swan) and the
'mayur' (peacock). The instrument symbolizes knowledge of the arts
held in high esteem in Vedic tradition. The rosary points to the
meditative qualities necessary to acquire knowledge. The scripture
is knowledge in itself. The swan signifies discrimination between
right and wrong, while the peacock points to the mundane, the
unstable.
Celebration of Saraswati Puja
Saraswati Puja is also known as Boi Puja ( a worship of books). The
puja starts early in the morning with aarti. The chanting of various
monsters begins after the 'aaroti'. Ma Saraswati is the goddess of
learning, so those associated with the performance footsteps of Ma
Saraswati in order to receive her special blessings. It is
particularly popular among the students community. Basically
students fear studies most. The puja is celebrated in all schools
and colleges.
Families dressed in bright yellow gather together before the idol
of Saraswati and pray for the blessing of knowledge. Flowers and
wild berries are offered to the goddess and students place their
books before the deity and do not do any reading or writing that
day. An elaborate puja, with sandalwood, ghee, joss sticks, and
incense is done to the sound of shlokas, conch shells, and drums. On
this day, people eat vegetarian food and initiate children into the
world of the written word. Traditionally, priests make children
write the word 'Om'.
All the young people gather in the pandal to celebrate the
festival. Puja is performed by pujari or pandit, after puja, prasad
is distributed among all the people present. Saraswati puja is also
the day of eating plums.
Regional Celebrations
Saraswati Puja is celebrated in all over the country. Across the
country, educational institutions celebrate the festival with great
enthusiasm.
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