वसन्त पञ्चमी

The tradition & historical record

Vasant Panchami, also rendered Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a Hindu festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. It is celebrated during the fifth day (Panchami) in the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Magha between January and February every year of the Hindu lunar year. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which take place forty days later. The Vasant Utsava (festival) on Panchami is celebrated forty days before spring, because any season's transition period is 40 days, and after that, the season comes into full bloom. ¹

Vasant Panchami is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the bright half of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Magha, which typically falls in late January or February. Spring is known as the "King of all Seasons", so the festival commences forty days in advance. On Vasant Panchami, the weather is generally winter-like in northern India and more spring-like in central and western regions, supporting the belief that spring reaches its peak forty days after the festival. The festival is particularly observed by Hindus in the Indian subcontinent, notably India and Nepal. In southern states, the same day is called Sri Panchami. On the island of Bali and the Hindus of Indonesia, it is known as "Hari Raya Saraswati" (great day of Saraswati). It also marks the ending of the 210-day long Balinese Pawukon calendar. ¹

Vasant Panchami is a Hindu festival that marks the beginning of preparations for the spring season. Celebrations vary by region. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika or Holi, which occur forty days later. For many, Vasant Panchami is dedicated to goddess Saraswati, revered as the deity of knowledge, language, music, and all arts. She symbolizes creative energy and power in all its forms, including longing and love. The season and festival also celebrate the blooming of yellow mustard flowers, which are linked with Saraswati's favorite color. People wear yellow clothing or accessories, and eat yellow-colored foods. Many families mark this day by encouraging their young children to write their first words, and study or create music together. The day before Vasant 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, murtis of Saraswati are dressed in yellow and worshiped. Many educational institutions arrange special prayers or pujas in the morning to seek her blessings. Poetic and musical gatherings are held in some communities in her honor. In Eastern India, primarily in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Bihar, as well as in Nepal, devotees visit Saraswati temples and also worship Goddess Saraswati at home (Saraswati Puja). In West Bengal, the festival is widely celebrated by Bengali Hindus; most schools arrange Saraswati puja for their students on their premises. In Kolkata, Saraswati Pujo is popularly called 'Bangali Valentine's Day'. The day has come to be associated with couples spending time together dressed in traditional kurtas/pajama and saris. ¹

Vasant Panchami is also associated with Kamadeva, the god of love. Kamadeva is reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukmini. The festival is also known as "Madana Panchami". He awakens the passions of the earth (and its people) and thus the world blooms anew. It is remembered as the day when rishis (sages) requested Kama to interrupt Shiva's yogic meditation. Supporting Parvati–who was performing penance to gain Shiva as her husband–the rishis seek Kama's help to arouse Shiva's worldly desires. Kama agrees and shoots an arrow, made of flowers and bees, to stir Shiva's desires. When Shiva awakens from his meditation, he opens his third eye, and Kama is burned to ashes. This initiative is celebrated by Hindus as Vasant Panchami. Vasant Panchami is associated with the emotions of love and emotional anticipation in Kutch (Gujarat) and is celebrated by preparing bouquets and garlands of flowers set with mango leaves, as a gift. People dress in saffron, pink, or yellow and visit each other. Songs about Krishna's pranks with Radha, considered to mirror Kama-Rati, are sung. This is symbolized with the Hindu deity Kama with his wife Rati. Traditionally, in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh, after bathing in the morning, people worship Shiva and Parvati. Offerings of mango flowers and the ears of wheat are traditionally made. ¹

The shrine of the Sun God in Aurangabad district, Bihar known as the Deo-Sun Shrine, was established on Basant Panchami. The day is celebrated to commemorate the founding of the shrine by King Aila of Allahabad and the birthday of the Sun-Deo God. The statues are washed and old red clothes on them are replaced with new ones on Basant Panchami. Devotees sing, dance and play musical instruments. ¹

People celebrate the day by wearing yellow (white), eating sweet dishes and displaying yellow flowers in homes. In Rajasthan, it is customary for people to wear jasmine garlands. In Maharashtra, newly married couples visit a temple and offer prayers on the first Basant Panchami after the wedding, wearing yellow dresses. In the Punjab region, Hindus wear a yellow turban or headdress. In Uttarakhand, in addition to Saraswati Puja, people worship Shiva, Parvati as the mother earth and the crops or agriculture. People eat yellow rice and wear yellow. It is also a significant school supplies shopping and related gift-giving season. In Gujarat, Vasant Panchami is regarded as an auspicious date for wedding, housewarming, and starting a new business. In the Punjab region, Basant is celebrated as a seasonal festival by all faiths and is known as the Basant Festival of Kites. Children buy dor (thread) and guddi or patang (kites) for the sport. The people of the Punjab wear yellow clothes and eat yellow rice to emulate the yellow mustard (sarson) flower fields, or play by flying kites. According to Desai (2010), the tradition of flying kites on various festivals is also found in northern and western Indian states: Hindus in Rajasthan and especially in Gujarat associate kite flying with the period prior to Uttarayan; in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), kites are flown on Dussehra; in Bengal kite flying takes place on Viskwakarma Puja in September. The sport is also found in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and parts of south India. On Bali and among Indonesian Hindus, Hari Raya Saraswati (the festival's local name) is celebrated with prayers in family compounds, educational institutions, and public venues from morning to noon. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Vasant Panchami”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Vasant Panchami is festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²