VASANTHA PANCHAMI!!!!

Vasant/Basant Panchami Saraswati puja and festival is of great significance in Hindu religion. The festival of Vasant Panchami is celebrated on fifth day of Shukla Paksha of Magh Mas. As per Hindu lunar calendar the month in which full moon day coincides with Maga (Maghah) star, that month is denoted as Maagha masam which occur during the calendar months of January-February. Maagham is a Sanskrit word Ma+Agham. Ma means not present and Agham means sin, evil, malefic, annoyance, suffering, grief and Maagha masam is the month which is highly meritorious, auspicious and free from any sin or suffering. Hence this month is considered as an auspicious month for performing marriages, Gruha Pravesam, Aksharabhyasam etc.

In this year; the festival Vasant/Basant Panchami is on 28th January 2012. It is considered as the birthday of Sarswathi Devi. Saraswathi puja is also observed by several other communities in India on the same day. An important event on the day is the initiation of children into the world of letters on this day.

SIGNIFANCE OF THE FORM OF SARASWATHI:-

Mother Sarswathi who is the bestower of light of knowledge and wisdom. Mother Saraswathi destroys the veil of darkness and brings light to the devotee in the form of wisdom. Sarswathi is the Sakthi, the power and the consort of Brahma the creator. Goddess Sarswathi is the goddess of knowledge and arts, represents the free flow of wisdom and consciousness. It is believed that goddess Sarswathi endows human beings with the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She is dressed in white which represents purity and her rejection of everything that is base and materialistic. She holds sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus (symbol of true knowledge) in the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on a stringed instrument called the veena. Her white swan represents the discrimination between the evil and the good, the eternal and the transitory. The four arms of the goddess suggest the four aspects of human personality i.e. mind, intellect, vigilance, and ego. The pearl string represents the power of spirituality. The goddess Saraswati, sitting on a lotus, symbolizes her wisdom. She is also well-versed in the experience of truth. When the goddess is seen sitting on a peacock, it is a reminder that a strong ego can be held back by wisdom. Goddess Sarswathi suggests that one should be wise regarding the eternal truth.

Victory over the mind is gained only through knowledge and through understanding. Saraswathi represents this highest knowledge of the Self.She removes the ignorance and darkness and grants us the higher knowledge of self. She is the goddess of the spiritual knowledge and the knowledge that frees us from this bind of this materialistic world. Mother Saraswathi is the (Gnaana Shakti) this is the power of knowledge. Mother Saraswathi represents the Sattwic qualities (Love, bliss and peace) once the devotee has rid him/her self of the Rajastic and Tamastic qualities. Mother Saraswathi herself appears as the Sattwic quality and imparts the wisdom needed to attain salvation.

Spiritual Significance of vasant panchami:

Goddess Saraswati is portrayed as the Goddess of Knowledge according to Hinduism. She is the one who bestows the knowledge required for spiritual enlightenment. With Her grace, the mute, it is believed, have been able to speak and people have been blessed with the ability to write or compose poems. As 'Diwali' – the festival of light is to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity, and 'Navaratri' is to Durga, goddess of power and valor, Vasant Panchami is to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts.

Vasant/Basant Panchami festival is of great significance in Hindu religion. It is celebrated every year on the 5th day or ‘Panchami’ of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magha, which falls during January-February. ‘Vasant’ comes from the word ‘spring’ as this festival heralds the beginning of the spring season.It is believed that on this day goddess Saraswati was born. Hindus celebrate Vasant Panchami with great fervor in temples, homes and even schools and colleges. It is observed by several other communities in North India on the same day. An important event on the day is the initiation of children into the world of letters on this day. In several parts of India Saraswati Puja is also observed during Navaratri (October – November). During Vasant Panchami, the advent of spring is felt in the air as the season undergoes change. New leaves and blossoms appear in the trees with the promise of new life and hope.

The most significant aspect of Vasant Panchami is that it is also the most auspicious day to begin laying one’s foundations of education – of how to read and write. Musicians sing here and many even choose to perform here first. Instrumentalists have puja performed for their instruments here apart from art and culture. Pre-school children are given their first lesson in reading and writing on this day. Some people do the Saraswati puja on Dussera day. That includes all forms of Saraswati (knowledge), like books, musical instruments, sports, weapons and so on. All Hindu educational institutions conduct special prayer for Saraswati on this day. It is also a great day to inaugurate training institutes and new schools – a trend made famous by the renowned Indian educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861-1946), who founded the Banaras Hindu University on Vasant Panchami day in 1916.Hindus all over the world celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm. Hence she is worshipped on the day of this festival.

The festival bears spiritual significance as in all other Hindu festivals. The arrival of Spring signifies the end of the days of gloom and awakening into new joy. The spiritual significance is that the festival symbolises the end of the days of ignorance and awakening into spiritual enlightenment.

On the day, the idol of Saraswati is dressed in white or yellow color. Yellow color plays an important role in Vasant Panchami and Saraswati Puja. Yellow color symbolizes the onset of spring and new enthusiasm. Fresh fruits and flowers are offered to Goddess Saraswati. On this day Goddess of education Mata Saraswati is worshiped with yellow flowers, water offerings, incense, lamp etc. In the Puja, as per the tradition, yellow and sweet rice and yellow colored Halwa is offered to God and then eaten as Prasadam.

A Rare Sarasvathi Shloka:

S(h)vetha padmaasanaa daevee s(h)vaetha pushpopa shobhithaa

S(h)vaethaambaradharaa nithyaa s(h)vaetha gandhaanulaepanaa

S(h)vaethaakshee s(h)uklavasthraa cha s(h)vaethachandana charchithaa

Varadaa siddhagandharvaih risibhih sthooyathae sadaa

SthothraeNaanaena thaam jagaddhaathreem sarasvatheem

Yae sthuvanthi thrikaalaeshu sarva vidhyaa labhanthi thae

Yaa daevee sthooyathae nithyam brahmaendra sura kinnaraih

Saa mamaivaasthu jihvaagrae padmahasthaa sarasvathee