Basant Panchami is a festival that marks the arrival of the spring season and is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. The festival is celebrated with great joy in various ways.
Devotees worship Goddess Saraswati, a Hindu Goddess of art and wisdom to guide them to lead a life full of knowledge and enlightenment. A puja is performed during the Panchami Tithi during Purvahna Kala that falls between sunrise and midday.
A shade of yellow colour is added to the decoration and clothing as it is believed to be Goddess Saraswati’s favourite colour.
Basant Panchami Puja:
“According to drikpanchang.com, the muhurat for Basant Panchami will begin at 6.59 AM and will end at 12.36 PM. The Panchami tithi will begin at 3.36 AM on February 16 and end at 5.46 AM on February 17. Basant Panchami Madhyahna Moment will begin at 12.36 PM,” as per a report by Indian Express.
Mango leaves, rice, ashtagandha, chandan, jaggery, haldi, ganga water and fruits are a few of the items required for the Basant Panchami Puja.
Basant Panchami History:
As per Hindu mythology, Brahma created the universe and wanted to see it with his own eyes. Hence, he set out on a journey but was disappointed with the complete silence and loneliness of everyone on planet Earth.
After giving it a lot of thought, he took some water in his Kamandal and sprinkled it in the air. An angel with a harp in her hand appeared from a tree and was requested to play something so that the Earth was not silent and the angel obliged to bless the people of the Earth with her voice, filling the planet with music. That angel came to be known as Saraswati or Veena Vadini (harp player), reports Hindustan Times.
Basant Panchami Significance:
As per a report by INDIA TODAY, Saraswati is the goddess of wisdom, intellect, and learning. Saraswati has four arms, representing the four aspects of human personality in learning — the mind, intellect, alertness, and ego.
She has a book in her hand, a rosary of crystal beads (poetry), and a vina (music) and a pot of sacred water representing the purity of these three arts and their power to purify human thought. She is often pictured seated on a lotus or a peacock, wearing a white dress.
Yellow colour holds a special meaning on this festival. Several spring flowers are yellow in colour, hence making yellow the dominant colour of Basant Panchami. Also, it is believed to be the favourite colour of Goddess Saraswati.
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