Basant Panchami is a Hindu festival that is celebrated every year in the month of Magh (January to February). The festival marks the arrival of the spring and end of the winter season.
Farmers across north India celebrate Basant Panchami with much fervor as yellow flowers of their mustard crop adorn their fields. People belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Bengal, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh observe this day by offering prayers to Goddess Saraswati. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that the goddess was born on Basant Panchami.
Basant Panchmi/Saraswati Puja celebrations
People wear yellow clothes and worship goddess Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and learning.
Basant Panchami is popular for its delicacies like labra (mixed vegetables), paayesh, begun bhaja, sondesh, khichuri, rajbhog and sweet saffron rice. In some parts of the country, kite flying also takes place on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami.
Date and time of Basant Panchmi
This year, Basant Panchami or Saraswati Puja will be observed on January 29. However, as per Panchang (Hindu calendar), the festival can be celebrated from 10.45 am on January 29 to 1.00 pm on January 30.
Puja vidhi (Steps for Puja)
· Clean your house and puja area
· Place goddess Sarawati’s idol in puja area
· Put a yellow cloth around the idol
· Light diyas (earthen lamps) and incense sticks
· Offer yellow flowers, kumkum, rice and bhog
· Recite mantras and Saraswati aarti
Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox – subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what’s happening in the world around you – in real time.
Source: News18