Vasant Panchami 2019
Vasant Panchami 2019 Date – 10th February 2019
Staying true to the caption Vasant Panchami is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India. Known to fall on the fifth day of the spring (fifth day of Hindu month Magha), Vasant Panchami is mostly symbolised by worshipping Goddess Saraswati , who is the epitome of knowledge , wisdom and learning. Celebrating her birthday on this day, people wish to acquire wisdom and insight and leave behind hebetude. The asset that Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on Vasant Panchami was granted to her by Lord Krishna. After bathing in the morning, pooja is started in which people pray to Goddess Saraswati and sing religious songs. The most noticeable and auspicious thing which is visible in this festival is the yellow colour. Since it is celebrated welcoming the spring season, yellow colour symbolises the bloom of mustard flowers. People wear yellow clothes and eat yellow rice and sweets. Other than this, educational institutions also arrange poojas in the morning for students and sing religious songs. Very young children are taught to write their first word in this day as this is considered auspicious and is known as Akshar-Abhyasam. (Akshar – letter, Abhyasam – initiation)
Apart from the most famous Saraswati pooja, Vasant Panchami is celebrated in various ways in different parts of the country.
- In Punjab, this festival is marked by the occurrence of kite flying by children and even adults. Kite flying, a tradition which was started by Maharaja Ranjit Singh hundreds of years ago, is considered very auspicious on this day. And because of this, it has also come to known as Festival of Kites.
- In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, people also tend to worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
- In Aurangabad, Bihar, sanctum of the Sun God was set up on Vasant Panchami. Therefore, people monumentalize the sanctum on this day by celebrating Sun God’s birthday. His clothes are changed and the sanctum is cleaned thoroughly. People come and sing religious songs.
- Breaking the most believable myth that Vasant Panchami is only celebrated by Hindu religion, Nizamuddin Dargah of Aulia in Delhi celebrates Basant every year. There lies a small story behind it. Unfortunately, Chishti Saint Nizamuddin Aulia’s nephew died at a young age. This tragedy left him in a state of trauma and utter shock to such an extent that he pulled himself out of the society. Amir Khusrau, the court poet, saw all this and decided to bring saint to his usual self. That was the time of Basant when women were dressed in yellow clothes and wandering carrying yellow clothes. Khusrau saw this, got dressed in yellow and took yellow flowers for the saint. This genuine gesture of khusrau made the saint smile. And since then, Basant started being celebrated in the Dargah.
- In Uttarakhand, apart from the Saraswati Pooja, people worship their crops which they consider like a God for them. Different crops along with cow dung heaps are kept and worshipped.
The fact that we have so many festivals, Vasant Panchami being one of them, and every festival is celebrated in its own way in every region, is very beautiful and the essence of our culture. This is the true sign of a diverse country.