Basant Panchami February 2008

Basant Panchami or Vasant Pancami is a Hindu festival which heralds the arrival of spring season. ‘Vasant’ or ‘Basant’ means spring. In 2008, the date of Basant Panchami is February 11. It is also the day when Saraswati Puja is performed in North and Eastern parts of India. Another specialty of Vasant Panchami is the importance given to yellow color, which symbolizes prosperity and love.

The festival is celebrated mainly in North India. Basant season is the period between sun’s entry into the Meena Rashi and its entrance into the Vrishabh Rashi. There is no major Hindu scriptural story associated with Vasant Panchami. But in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that ‘Basant’ is one of his forms.

Basant Panchami is essentially a form of nature worship – welcoming the blossoming nature after the harsh winter.

Prayers are offered on the day to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge), Lord Surya (Sun God), Mother Ganga (Ganges) and Bhu Devi (Mother Earth). The worship of Sun, Earth and Water (Ganges) is acknowledging the various forms of nature, which sustains human beings, plants and animals.

Great prominence is given to yellow color on the day as it signifies the ripening of fruits and crops. The mustard fields in North India blooms during this season. Yellow colored mustard flowers dots the green fields.

Deities in temples and houses are decorated with yellow colored clothes. Similarly, yellow colored food, sweets and fruits are distributed to friends, neighbors and relatives. Yellow sweet rice is cooked and distributed on the day.

In northern and eastern parts of India, Goddess Saraswathi is worshipped by students and teachers. Children are also initiated into the world of learning on this day.

Similarly, people worship the ancestors on the day and Pitr Tarpan is also performed by some communities. It is also an important bathing day during the ongoing Magh Mela.

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Saraswati Puja