The scent of freshly bloomed flowers wafting through the air, people dressed in yellow-colored attire, the sunlight providing warmth in the receding winter. It all brings just one festival to mind and that is Basant Panchami or Vasant Panchami.
While Vasant means spring, Panchami means the 5th day. This festival falls on the 5th day of the Maagha month as per the Hindu calendar and marks the arrival of the Spring season which is called the Basant ritu in Hindi, hence the name Vasant Panchami. It is also believed that this is the day when Goddess Saraswati emerged in the form we know today,
Bringing respite from the harsh cold weather of the winter months marks the beginning of warmer days. This day is celebrated in various ways and by various names in different parts of India. In South India, it is called Sri Panchami and in West Bengal, it is celebrated as Saraswati Puja.
Traditionally yellow is worn on this day to pay homage to Devi Saraswati. People dress up in yellow and even offer yellow flowers to the Goddess. The color is also reflected in the food people eat on that day. Yellow-coloured sweets and snacks are eaten on Basant Panchami.
Since Goddess Saraswati is associated with knowledge and wisdom it is customary for educational institutions to hold Saraswati Pujas and work partly or declare an off day. Students place their books, notebooks, and stationery in front of Goddess Saraswati and request her to bless them with the ability to gain and retain knowledge.
Holding a veena as her instrument, Goddess Saraswati is also known as the Goddess of creativity and arts. That is why people from the creative fields like writers, musicians, actors, dancers, etc also worship the Goddess and seek her blessings for creative abundance.
In Maharashtra, couples offer prayers to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati. They offer mango flowers and ears of wheat to the deities and even visit their temples, especially on their first Basant Panchami as a married couple.
In Bihar, the idols at the Deo Sun temple are cleaned. Devotees worship Lord Surya whose blessings are necessary for the blossoming of flora during Spring. They celebrate the founding of this magnificent temple on Vasant Panchami.
In Bengal, this day is celebrated as Saraswati Puja. People bring home idols of the Goddess. A puja is performed in honor of Goddess Saraswati in which various offerings are made to her and various mantras are chanted as well.
In Punjab, people get together with one another and wear yellow and fly kites, a tradition that was started by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Fairs are also organized in many parts of the state on this festival.
Many people prefer that they initiate their children into education on Basant Panchami. It is also customary for people to make toddlers write their first letters on this day. This practice is called Akshara Abhyasam. Generally, people prefer that children write Om as their first letter.
This day is considered to be very auspicious to start anything new. Getting married, starting a new business, and entering a new house are preferred to be done on Vasant Panchami.
There are many stories associated with Vasant Panchami. One of them involves the renowned ancient poet Kalidasa.
As the story goes, there was once a very intelligent princess named Vidyottama who had gained victory over many scholars in debate. When the time came for her to choose a groom for herself she declared that she would marry someone who was more intelligent than her. In order to teach her a lesson a group of scholars who considered her to be a little too proud of her intellect decided to trick her into marrying a fool.
They stumbled upon Kalidasa who was trying to cut off the tree branch he was sitting on. Deeming him to be the perfect fit they presented Kalidasa as a great learned sage and convinced the princess to marry him. After getting married to him the princess realized that Kalidasa was not who he was portrayed as and in a fit of rage she banished him from her palace.
Overcome with embarrassment Kalidasa decided to take his own life. It was then that Goddess Saraswati appeared before him and blessed him with knowledge, creativity, and wisdom. Later on, he became the famous poet we know today. It is believed that Devi Saraswati brought about Kaldasa’s intellectual transformation on the day of Vasant Panchami.
Another story tells the tale of Lord Shiva and Kamadeva. After the demise of his wife Devi Sati, Lord Shiva went into deep meditation. When Devi Parvati who was a reincarnation of Goddess Sati did tapasya to be able to marry him her efforts were unable to move him.
Finally, she sought the help of Kamadeva, the Hindu God of Love, and requested him to wake Lord Shiva from his meditation. Obliging to her request Kamadeva created a beautiful environment at Mount Kailasha where Lord Shiva was meditating and shot at him with special arrows made of flowers to wake him up. While he succeeded in doing so he did manage to anger Mahadeva and was reduced to ashes by him.
When Kamadeva’s wife got to know about it she pleaded with Lord Shiva to bring her husband back to life. While he agreed to grant her wish he also said that only she would be able to see him in his physical form and for everyone else he would just be a feeling of love.
While performing the Puja of Devi Saraswati you can chant the following mantra.
Om Aim Saraswatyayi Namah
You must either chant it 51 times or 108 times. Doing so will help you gain the blessings of Goddess Saraswati and will grant you knowledge, creativity, and success in education, and career.
Vasant Panchami Muhurat : 6:41 am to 12:36 p.m
Vasant Panchami Madhyahna Moment : 12:36 p.m
Panchami Tithi : 2:41 p.m, 13 February to 12:09, 14 February
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