Dussehra.... celebrating the victory of good over evil.

Dussehra, also known as Dasara or Vijayadashami, is a major hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri. It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian Subcontinent on a large scale. Many of the Hindu festivals are related to great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata and Dussehra is one of the main ones. Dussehra is one of the most distinguished festivals in India and  is celebrated in different ways in different parts of the country.

Mythology:

• Most of the northern states of India see this festival as the day when Rama killed the ten-headed king of Lanka, Ravana. According to the Ramayana, Ravana kidnapped Rama’s wife, Sita. After several years of penance, Ravana had received a boon from Lord Brahma which made him indestructible. Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, circumvented the boon and managed to kill the demon king in a fierce battle on this day. The word ‘Dussehra’ is made up of two Hindi words, ‘dus’ meaning ten and ‘hara’ meaning annihilated. Therefore, when combined, ‘Dussehra’ stands for the day when the ten evil faces of Ravana were destroyed by Lord Rama.
• In many other states of India, the festival is dedicated to the victory of goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. According to the Puranas, Mahishasura performed severe penance to be immortal. However, when Lord Brahma told him that wasn’t possible, the arrogant demon altered his request, instead, wishing that if he were to be killed, it had to be by a woman. The deeply prejudiced Mahishasura was extremely confident that no woman was strong enough to slay him. Soon, with his newfound strength, he started wreaking havoc in the three worlds, terrifying even the gods themselves. That’s when goddess Durga came to their rescue. She challenged the demon and fought with him in a nine-day long battle, ultimately slaying the powerful asura on the tenth day. This is why Navaratri celebrations are nine days long, with each day dedicated to one of the nine avatars of Durga, culminating with Durga Puja celebrations on the tenth day. 
• According to the Mahabharata, Dussehra also marks the day when Arjuna single-handedly put the huge Kaurava army to sleep by invoking the Sammohan Astra. Arjuna was also called Vijaya – the one who is ever victorious. Thus, the day became popular as “Vijaya Dashami”.
• In other parts of the country, Dussehra is celebrated as the festival of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. People worship the goddess along with their instruments of trade. 

Puja Samagri: 

Kalash, marigold flower, rice, whole coconut, fruits (any five), bangles, diya, haldi-kumkum, akshada, betel leaves. 

Puja vidhi: 

• Put on Toran (make it with mango tree leaves and marigold flowers) to the main entrance of the house in the morning. 
• To perform Puja, Keep a wooden chowki adjacent to the temple and cover it with a red cloth. Draw a Swastik with red colored rangoli below chowki. Decorate chowki with toran (made up of mango tree leaves). 
• Spread some rice on the chowki and place a copper/brass/silver kalash on it.  Fill water in a Kalash. Draw a swastik on kalash. Put a coin, puja supari and a pinch of haldi, chandan and kumkum into it. Then cover the neck of the Kalash with five or seven Mango or betel leaves. Place a whole brown coconut with its husk on top of it. 
• Beside kalash put a plate(you can use taaman) and draw a swastik on it with kumkum.  Then put rice in it and draw Goddess Lakshmi with that rice. you can decorate Goddess with ornaments like bangles, toe ring etc. 
• Lit an oil/ghee lamp and place it on one side of the chowky.
• After this, perform kalash puja by offering haldi, kumkum, chandan, akshada and flowers(offfer red flower to Lakshmi if you have). In same sequence pray all deities in temple and welcome them. 
• after this, all household equipment like laptop, washing machine and small equipment like knife,hammer etc., are also worships on this day. Vehicles are also worships on this day.

Celebration: 

celebration in different regions of India

In maharashtra, this festival is celebrated as vicotry of Good over Evil. On this Lord Rama killed demon Ravana. Thus the celebration. People celebrate this vicotry of Rama by burning of a huge Ravana figurine which is traditionally filled with fireworks.

This day is celebrated as Durga Puja in West bengal. This festival is the whole identity of the state as it is celebrated in a grand manner. Goddess Durga is worshipped for 5 days along with other deities and several cultural programmes are held.

Gurga Puja in West Bengal

Garba is the prime event of this festival in Gujarat. It is basically a folk dance where people dance wearing multi-coloured clothes and holding sticks. It is played at night after worshipping Goddess Durga.

Dandiya in Gujarat

Punjab celebrated the festival by worshipping Goddess Shakti. People fast during the 7 days of Navratri along with arranging jagrata. On the 8th day, they open their fast by worshipping nine girls and kanya pujan.

Kanya Pujan

In Uttar Pradesh, the festival is celebrated by burning the statues of Ravana, Megnath and Kumbhkaran. This act depicts the victory of good over evil. It is celebrated in a grand manner with larger than life statues.

Ravan Dahan

In Chattisgarh, it is all about rejoicing nature, spirituality and presiding deity of the state. They worship Devi Danteshwari and unique rituals are performed on the last day. 

Worshiping Nature

Bail Pola... festival of bulls

Indian culture is full of festivals and Bail Pola is one of them. This festival is celebrated by the farmers to show their gratitude and love for the bulls. It acknowledge the importance of bulls and oxen, who are a crucial part of agriculture and farming activities. Farmers worship bulls on this day. This festival is mostly celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. In some parts of MP and Chhattisgarh, the day is also celebrated as Pola Amavasya. It falls on the day of the Pithori Amavasya (the new moon day) in the month of Shravan/Bhadrapada.

Pola festival has its own traditional rituals to be followed like bulls are given a bath and then decorated with jewellery, shawls and a garland of flowers. They are even painted in various colors and then worshiped.

Mythology:

According to mythology, Lord Krishna\"s maternal uncle Kans had sent a demon Polasur to kill Lord Krishna when he was a child. Then Lord Krishna killed him. This is why children are given special treatment on this day. That day was Shravan Amavasya. 

Celebrations:

One day before this festival, farmer gives an invitation to bull and oxen, saying, “आज आवतन घ्या उद्या जेवायला या !”. 

On this day, farmers do not work and give rest to their bulls and oxen. Women carve out beautiful rangoli in front of their houses, tie toran (decorative thread) on top of doors, prepare puja thalis and worship the farm animals. 

Moreover, a pair of bulls made up of clay is worshiped on this day. Special food cooked on this day is Puran poli along with other dishes.

On this day, bulls are washed and massaged with oil by farmers. They are decorated with shawls, bells, and flowers, their horns are colored, and they get new reins and ropes. 

Members of the farmer family also take blessings of bulls and oxen by touching their feet. Ploughing and sowing take place after the festival is completed.

This festival is celebrated for two days. There is the Bada (Big) Pola where the bull or ox is worshiped and the Chhota or Tanha (small) Pola.

On the next day, children carry a pair of bulls which was worshiped on the day of Pola with them and go door-to-door where people worship these clay bulls with haldi kumkum and give children some gifts in cash and candies or chocolates. This day is celebrated as Tanha (small) Pola. 

Story of Shree Vitthal-Rukmini...

Once upon a time, there was a follower of Lord Vishnu, named Pundalik. He was living with his wife and parents Janudev and Satyavati, in a forest called Dindirvan.

Pundalik was a devoted son but soon after his marriage, he began to ill-treat his parents. To escape from this misery, the parents decided to go on a pilgrimage to Kashi. When Pundalik’s wife learnt about this, she also decided to go. She and her husband joined the same group of pilgrims on horseback. While the son and his wife site on the horseback, his parents walked. Every evening when they camped for the night halt, the son forced his parents to look after horses and do other work.

The poor parents cursed the day they decided to go on a pilgrimage.

After travelling for some days, these people reached the ashrama of the great sage Kukkutswami and decided to spend a couple of nights. They were all tired and soon fell asleep except Pundalik who could not sleep.

In the evening, Pundalik saw a group of women dressed in dirty clothes enter the ashrama, clean the floor, fetch water and wash the Kukkutswami’s clothes. Then they entered the inner room of the ashrama and came out in beautifully clean clothes and passing near Pundalik, they vanished.

Next night he saw the same sight again. Pundalik threw himself at their feet and begged them to tell who they were. They said they were Ganga, Yamuna and other holy rivers of India in which the Pilgrims bathed and washed off sins. Their clothes became dirty by the sins of the bathing pilgrims. “And because of your ill-treatment of your parents,” they said, “You are the greatest sinner.”

This brought a complete change in Pundalik and he became the most devoted son. Now the parents’ rode the horses while the son and his wife walked by their side.

One day it so happened that Lord Krishna, while feeling lonely, was reminded of his early days in Mathura. He particularly remembered his sports with the cowherd boys and his love, Radha. Though she was dead, he longed to see her again. By his divine powers, he brought her back to life and seated her by her side. Just then his wife, Rukmini, entered the room. When Radha did not rise to pay her respect, Rukmini left Dwarka in anger and hide in Dindirvan forest.

Later, Lord Krishna set off in search of Rukmini with cowherd boys, after searching at Mathura, then to Gokul and Mount Govardhan, at last, they reached the banks of the river Bhima (now it is called as Chandrabhaga in Pandharpur). At last, he found her and managed to calm her. Krishna and Rukmini came to Pundalik’s ashrama.

But at that time Pundalik was busy taking care of his parents. Pundalik refused to pay his respect to the god before completing his duty towards his parents. However, he threw a brick for Lord Krishna to stand upon till he completes his duty with his parents. Impressed by Pundalik’s devotion to his parents, Lord Krishna did not mind the delay. Standing on the brick he waited for Pundalik.

When Pundalik came out and begged God’s pardon and requested Him to remain there for the devotees, Lord Krishna accepted it as he was pleased with Pundalik’s love for his parents.

Since then Lord Krishna is present as Vithoba, Vitthal or Pandurang who stood upon a brick in Pandharpur.

Ashadhi Ekadashi... A day to worship Lord Vishnu

 Ashadhi Ekadashi, also known as Devshayani Ekadashi, is one of the most important festival that is celebrated in Maharashtra. This festival is dedicated to Lord Vithoba (Avatar of Lord Vishnu). On this day, Lord Vishnu goes to sleep and wake up after four months on Prabodhini Ekadashi. It is the 11th lunar day of Hindu month of Ashadh which falls in June or July. This festival is generally celebrated in Pandharpur city in Maharashtra where a huge number of devotees gather to celebrate this ceremony. 

Lord Vithoba temple in Pandharpur

Mythology: 

It is believed that Lord Vishnu goes to sleep (Yognidra) in Ksheersagar (cosmic ocean of milk) on Shesh Naga and wakes up after four months on Prabodhini ekadashi that falls during Hindu Kartik month (October-November). This four months period is called as Chaturmaas. Chaturmaas is considered as a holy period of four months in Hindu calendar that starts from this day. Thus, Devshayani ekadashi is the beginning of the Chaturmaas.

Link for the story of Shri. Vitthal-Rakhumai

Shri Vithoba-Rakhumai 

Rituals: 

On this day, devotees keep fast for whole day to seek blessings from Lord Vishnu. Moreover, they spend entire night in singing devotional songs (Bhajans) and prayers. People draws beautiful Rangoli at the house entrance. 

During this day, devotees go walking in huge processions (Vari or dindi) to Pandharpur. People who join this procession is named as Vaarkari. Men are dressed in traditional attire like dhoti and kurta during the yatra. This yatra starts from Alandi (a small town in Maharashtra) and ends in Pandharpur. People from all over the state join this yatra and sing spiritual songs to pay tribute to Lord Vitthala. 

Vaarkari 

 

वटपौर्णिमा व्रत... Worship of Banyan tree

Indian culture has been heavily influenced by Dharmik religions wherein all the traditions are related to the nature and the season. The culture binds us uniformly with nature. Living in harmony with Nature has been an integral part of Indian culture. 

Vatpurnima Vrat is one of the festival that is celebrated in India where married women worships the Banyan tree. Vat means Banyan tree and Purnima means Full moon hence the name. This ritual is performed in the morning by the married women for the long life of the husband. This festival is mostly celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Bihar in India.

On this day,  married Women observe a fast for whole day and tie threads around a banyan tree and pray for the well-being of their husbands.

Mythology:

In Hinduism, a legendary couple Savitri and Satyavan are known for their love and devotion to each other. Princess Savitri is a daughter of king Ashvapati who rules the Madra kingdom. She was very beautiful, humble and virtuous girl. When she reaches the age of marriage, no man asks for her hand, so her father tells her to find a husband on her own. Later, Savitri chose a prince named Satyawan. 

Satyawan was the son of a blind king named Dhrimatsen of the Shalva kingdom. Defeated by the enemy, the king was living in the forest with his queen and son. 

Lord Narad knew that Satyavan's life was only one year thus, he advised Savitri not to marry him. But Savitri did not agree and she married to Satyavan. She came to the forest and started serving her in-laws with her husband. 

Three days before the foreseen death of Satyavan, Savitri takes a vow of fasting and vigil. While Satyavan is splitting wood, he suddenly becomes weak and lays his head in Savitri’s lap. Servants of Lord Yam (God of Death) come and return without the soul of Satyavan due to Savitri's holiness. Then, Lord Yam himself comes to claim the soul of Satyavan. Savitri follows Yama as he carries the soul away. She praises the obedience of Dharma and impressed Lord Yam by both her content and style. Later, Lord Yam granted life to Satyavan and blesses both of them to attain a long life.

Pooja Samagri:

Haldi-kumkum, Green bangles, black beaded thread, a long thread to tie around the tree, scent, Incense sticks, Diya, camphor, Panchamrut, puja cloth, betel leaves, supari (betel), Durva, Prashad of jaggary and coconut, any seasonal fruit (mango), photo of Savitri maata.

Puja Vidhi:

• On the occasion of Vat Purnima, Women should get up early morning and perform all daily rituals, like bathing and regular prayers to God. Women should fast for the entire day. Usually, women wear a tradition attire (Saari) on this day.
• After this, decorate pooja thali for the worship of banyan tree.
• First of all, Woman should make a resolution that "May my husband and I live a healthy and long life".
• Offer prayers to Lord Ganesha by establishing the betel nut on the betel leaves.
• Place a photo of Maata Sati Savitri (if photo is not available one can establish betel nut as Maata Savitri) and worship it with haldi-kumkum, akshada, green bangles, black texture as auspicious ornaments and offer prayers to her.
• Offer Prashad of jaggary and coconut, a mango.
• Perform aarti.
• Wrap a triple cotton rope around the Banyan tree and make seven rounds.
• Chant following mantra while taking rounds

• Fill Oti of five married women with mango and whole wheat after puja.
• Read Savitri Katha in the evening at home by inviting few women at your place.

If it is not possible to worship the actual tree, one can take the image of the banyan tree or a branch of tree and perform pooja at home.

The festival celebrates Savitri’s loyalty and dedication for her husband and the women observing the fast hope to achieve similar qualities and wish for a better and longer life for their husbands.

Gudi Padwa....सुरवात नवीन वर्षाची

    Gudi Padwa is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar. It is the first day of the year for people of Maharashtra and Konkan region. Gudi Padwa gets it's name from two words, the word Gudi means a flag and Padwa is derived from a Sanskrit word Pratipad which refers to the first day of the bright phase of the moon. This festival is celebrated with family. People worship Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswati on this day. 

Mythology:

    Gudi symbolizes Lord Rama's victory over Ravana and thus the happiness and celebrations that followed. Since a symbol of victory is always held high, so is the Gudi (flag). The festival commemorates the coronation of Rama post his return to Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile. Gudi is said to be a symbol of victory.

    The festival is also linked to the mythical day on which Hindu God Bramha created the universe. It is also said that on this day Brahma introduced days, weeks, months and years. Thus Gudi is believed to ward off evil, invite prosperity and good luck into the house. 

Preparations for Gudi: 

• Wooden pooja chowky
• one big stick (Bamboo)
• one saree or any cloth(red or green or yellow)
• one whole coconut
• Betel leaves
• Batasha (a sweet made up of sugar)
• Mango tree leaves
• Kalash (tie a thread five times on the neck of it and draw KumkumSswastik on it) 
• Flowers
• Haldi, Kumkum, Akshada (rice)
• Incense sticks
• Diya 
• Toran made up of Mango leaves and marigold flower garland
• A bunch of Neem leaves

Gudi Pooja vidhi: 

1. Clean houses and courtyards. 
2. This Pooja vidhi is performed in the morning. 
3. Draw beautiful Rangoli at the entrance of the house
4. First perform a regular pooja of all the deities 
5. The Gudi is made by tying a Saree on to a long bamboo stick. Take a Bamboo stick, clean it properly and apply five kumkum tikkas over it (on the top)
6. On top of the cloth, neem leaves, Batasha mala or gathi (a Maharashtrian sweet preparation), a garland of red or yellow flowers and a twig with mango leaves are tied on the top of the bamboo stick. This stick with the various ornaments is topped off with an inverted silver or copper pot (Kalash).
7. Put the Kalash on the top of the stick (as shown in image below). Apply kumkum Swastik on the kalash. 
8. Now place the Chowky at the entrance and draw small Swastik below it. Decorate the chowky with flowers and also draw Rangoli around it.
9. Cover the Chowky with any colored cloth and spread some rice on it (in the center of it). 
10. Finally keep the Gudi on that rice (on chowky)
11. Put two betel leaves (one top of the other) with one betel (Supari) on it. 
12. Keep one coconut beside Gudi. Apply Haldi kumkum to it.
13. Offer prayer to Lord Bramha and Goddess Saraswati.
14. Gudi can be placed outside the window or in balcony also. 

Celebrations: 

    On this day, People dress up in traditional attire. All family members wear new cloths and put on jewellery as well. Women draws beautiful Rangoli at the entrance of the house. People consider this day an extremely auspicious for making new purchases, especially of gold and silver. 

    On this day, special food is prepared including a sweet dish, known as Shrikhand, which is eaten with a type of Indian bread known as Poori. Other special dishes include the sweet Indian flatbread, Aamras and Pooran Poli. 

    Another unique practice which forms part of the celebrations is the ingestion of neem leaves after Gudi pooja. These leaves can be eaten directly or ground into a paste or in the form of juice. This tradition has the importance of marking the beginning of the festivities. 

    It is believed that hoisting the Gudi outside ones home wards off any evil influences, making way for good luck and prosperity. 

Holi.... festival of colors

 

Holi is one of the major festivals of India. It is the festival of colors. It is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun as per the Hindu calendar. It generally corresponds to the month of March in the English Calendar. It is celebrated in South Asian countries, especially in India and Nepal.

Picture Credit: TOI Holika Dahan, Udaipur

    The festival is celebrated for two days. First day is celebrated as Holika Dahan. Holi celebrates the killing of Holika in order to save Prahlad, a devotee of God Vishnu and thus Holi gets its name. On this day, a bonfire is lit which is referred to as Holika. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Second day is celebrated as Dhulivandan or Rang Panchami. On this day, bright colors and happiness soak each and every corner of the state in India and bring much joy to the lives of the people. In some regions of India, this festival is celebrated for five days.  

Mythology of Holi:

            Once there was a demon King Hiranyakashyapu. He had a son, Prahlad. Prahlad was the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu insisted that only he be worshipped and would kill anyone who disobeys him. But his son continued to worship Lord Vishnu. This made him furious and he decided to kill his own son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Holika sat on a bonfire and tricked Prahlad to sit on her lap. As the fire roared, the magical garment covered Prahlad and he came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death. Thus, this day is celebrated with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.

Holika Dahan vidhi:

    Holika Dahan is observed on Purnima Tithi in the month of Phalguna, Shukla Paksha. On the eve of Holi, typically after a sunset, people gather around a bonfire which they call Holika Dahan. The ritual symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Pooja is performed in different ways in different regions.

Pooja Samagri: 

Logs of wood, cow dung cake, Gangajal, coconut, a kalash full of water, Batasha or any other sweet, Thread, Diya, Kumkum, Turmeric, Akshada, Incense stick, Dhoop, Gulaal, Flowers. 

• Clean the place with cow dung water or Gangajal where you want to perform Holika dahan.
• Pile the logs of wood and cow dung cake in a pyramid shape.
• Three, five or seven rounds of raw thread are tied around the Holika after which it is burnt.
• Keep all pooja ingredients like Akshada, incense sticks, flowers, raw cotton thread, turmeric, batasha, gulal powder and coconut in a plate.
• First seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha. After worshipping Lord Ganesha, you may proceed with Holika Dahan.
• Perform pooja by offering water, haldi-kumkum, akshada, flowers to Holika. After that empty the water in kalash while taking rounds of Holika pile.
• Perform the ritual by facing towards east or north direction.
• Offer prayers to the Lord Narsimha.
• End the prayers by circumambulating the bonfire thrice, five or seven times.

    Next morning, on the day of Rang Panchami, the ash from the bonfire is collected and smeared on the body. Some people apply the ash on forehead. The ash is considered ash pious and it is believed that body is purified after applying it.

 Celebrations:

On the day of Holi, many sweet dishes are prepared at home like Puran poli, Shrikhand, Basundi etc. In Maharashtra, People prepare Puran poli as Naivedyam which they offer to Holika dahan in the evening and there is one saying in Marathi on this as, “Holi re holi Puranachi Poli”.

On the day of Holi, elder person in the house performs aarti to the children in the family and give them Batasha mala as a sweet and apply colors on their forehead.

    It is said that Lord Krishna started the trend of playing colors. He applied color on his beloved Radha to make her one like him. The trend soon gained popularity amongst the masses. No wonder, there is no match to the Holi of Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana - the places associated with the birth and childhood of Radha and Krishna.

    People get to gather and often repair broken relationships on this day. People celebrate this festival by playing with colors. They throw colored powder and colored water on each other and enjoys this joyful festival.