Basant Panchami in year 2022 – 5th February (Saturday)

Basant Panchami has a specific meaning: Basant means “Spring” and Panchami means “the fifth day”. Vasant Panchami falls on the fifth day of spring. Basant Panchami, also spelled Vasant Panchami, is the Hindu festival that highlights the coming of spring. It is observed on the fifth day of the Indian traditional calendar month of Magha, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of January or February.

Saraswati Pooja

The celebration of the Basant Panchami is centered on the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of wisdom, intellect and learning. She embodies the different facets of learning such as the sciences, arts, crafts and skills. She is said to be calm and collected. She is often pictured seated on a lotus or a peacock, wearing a white dress. he Goddess. She has four hands which symbolize ego, intellect, alertness and the mind. She carries a lotus and scriptures in two of her hands and she plays music on the veena (an instrument similar to a sitar) with her other two hands. She rides on a white swan. Her white dress is a symbol for purity. Her swan signifies that people should have the ability to discern the good from the bad.

Pooja & Celebration

The season and festival also reflects the agricultural fields which are ripening with yellow flowers of mustard crop, which Hindus associate with Saraswati’s favorite color. So on Basant Panchami, devotees pray to Goddess of Knowledge Saraswati and celebrate the day as Saraswati Pooja. Men, women and children dress up in the vibrant yellow color as mustard fields in northern parts of India blooms during this season giving a yellow coat to the nature. People dress in yellow saris or shirts or accessories, share yellow colored snacks and sweets. Some add saffron to their rice then eat yellow cooked rice as a part of an elaborate feast. Yellow flowers are offered to Goddess Saraswati and the festive yellow dishes like sweet saffron rice, kesari sheera, boondi ke ladoo, rajbhog and khichdi are prepared in homes. People also fly kites, distribute sweets, offer prayers in temples and music events are also held to celebrate this day.

Beginning of New Learning

At several places in India, the study session begins on the Saraswati Pooja day. Many families mark this day by sitting with babies and young children, encouraging their children to write their first words with their fingers, some just study or create music together. The day before Basant Panchami, Saraswati’s temples are filled with food so that she can join the celebrants in the traditional feasting the following morning. In temples and educational institutions, statues of Saraswati are dressed in yellow and worshiped. Many educational institutions arrange special prayers or poojas in the morning to seek blessing of the goddess. Poetic and musical gatherings are held in some communities in reverence for Saraswati.

In Nepal, Bihar and eastern states of India such as West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, people visit her temples and worship her (Saraswati Pooja). In southern states such as Andhra Pradesh, the same day is called Sri Panchami.

Basant Panchami Katha

When Lord Bramha was done with forming of the universe and came to earth, he found, there was silence everywhere on the earth. The whole earth felt very secluded and deserted. The whole atmosphere was full of silence and sadness. There was no mark of sound.
To remove this sadness & silence, Lard Brahma Sprinkled some water from his ‘Kamandal’. From these water drops, a ‘Shakti’ generated which had four hands. From her two of hands, that ‘Shakti’ was playing ‘Veena’ and in other two hands she had holding a ‘Book’ and a ‘Mala’. Lord Brahma asked her to remove all sadness by playing ‘Veena’.
The Goddess provided Voice to all creatures by playing Veena. And, from then Goddess named as ‘Saraswati’. Goddess Saraswati provides us education, learning & wisdom. That’s why people worship her on this day.