Basant Panchami Festival

¤ About Basant Panchami

Basant means spring, whereas Panchami means the fifth day of the spring. It falls on Panchami - on the Waxing Moon. The festival is celebrated in the month of January-February. This is one of the most grandeur festivals to beckon the arrival of the spring. The festival is not only celebrated in India but also in Pakistan as Jashan- e- Barhaan or the Celebration of the spring. This festival is celebrated as the end of the winter. The young girls dressed in the diverse shades of yellow magnify the splendor of nature. Kite flying, a popular sport in India, is associated with the Basant Panchami day. There is reason for the same, yellow is considered lucky and moreover its signifies spirituality and the same time is also signifies and new beginning that is the beginning of the spring. Hence people wear the color, apply Tilak on their forehead dishes of the same color. The festival is celebrated in differently in different parts of the country. There is both a spiritual and at the same time cultural aspect to celebrations.

¤ Basant Panchami Celebrations

The Basant Panchami festival is celebrated with full vivacity and festivity to mark the end of the winters. It is one of the first festivals of the year and is celebrated all over India. The yellow color has great significance, people wear yellow clothes, offer yellow flowers in worship and put a yellow, turmeric Tilak on their forehead. They visit temples and offer prayers to various gods. At home, kesar halva, also yellow in color, is prepared. The yellow flower of mustard crop covers the entire field in such a way that it seems as if gold is spread over the land glittering with the rays of the sun. In West Bengal the Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in many forms. For many this festal day is a spiritual beginning. Others fly in the festivities by flying kites that are is more than just a recreation.

¤ Saraswati Puja

The day of Basant Panchami is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati . Saraswati is the goddess of learning who bequeaths the greatest wealth to humanity, the wealth of knowledge. Hindu mythology depicts Saraswati as a pristine lady bedecked with white attire, white flowers and white pearls, sitting on a white lotus, which blooms in a wide stretch of water. The Goddess also holds the veena, a string-instrument, like Sitar, for playing music. On this day, people offer special prayers to Goddess Saraswati and also enchants Saraswati mantra. The puja is the highlight of this day.

¤ Prasadam

The "Prasadam" for the Goddess at the time of Basant Panchami celebrations varies from community to community. Some offers ber- a fruit, that is found in abundance in Northern and Eastern India, or "Sangari"- a kind of bean that grows on the roots of the radish plant.

¤ The Rituals Performed

The mythological history of Saraswati associates her with the holy rituals performed on the banks of the river Saraswati. She is worshipped as a goddess of speech, attributed to the formation of (words), origin of Sanskrit language and composition of hymns.

¤ Saraswati --A Water Deity

The Vedas also describes Saraswati as a water deity. The River Goddess --Saraswati, according to popular belief originated from the Himalayas, Goddess in the form of river meander towards southeast of India, finally rendezvous with the River Ganges at Prayag and River Yamuna. Hence the place is called Triveni. In due time this course of water is petered away.