Hindu Festivals - Vasant Panchami

VASANT PANCHAMI:

        Vasant Panchami or Sri Panchami is the first day of the spring season. It marks a change in the season and heralds the period of colour, mirth, gaiety, sweetness, fragrance  and novelty. Vasant Panchami is celebrated on the fifth day of the light half of Magha (January-February). This day is specially dedicated to saraswati, the goddess of learning, wisdom, fine arts and refinement.

        On this day yellow coloured robes are worn, and sweet rice, coloured with saffron is prepared. Yellow is a royal colour, and spirituality. Saraswati is worshipped on this day; poetical and musical gatherings are held on this day and children initiated to learn alphabets. In Bengal this day is observed as Sri Panchami and the images of goddess Saraswati are taken out in grand and gay procession after ceremonial worship and immersed in the holy Ganga or in any other stream or lake.

        Saraswati is the goddess of speech, learning, fine arts and sciences;inventress of the Sanskrit language and Devnagari script. She is represented as extremely fair, without any superfluity of limbs, and of graceful figure, wearing a slender crescent on her brow and sitting on a lotus. The swan or peacock is her mount. She is shown playing Veena and is also called Veena-vadini. Vedas are believed to have sprung from her head. In the Vedic period she was a water deity, and a goddess of at river of the same name, now dried up.

        Kamdev, the god of love and romance, is also inviked and worshipped on this day and feasts are arranged in his honour. On this memorable day, Shiva burnt Kamdeva to ashes, by opening his third eye; because he tried to incite his lust when he was wrapped in complete meditation. But with the intervention of his wife Rati, and other gods, Shiva once again made him alive. He is depicted as riding a parrot, carrying a bow made of sugarcane, strung with a line of humming bees, and with it shooting the five darts of desire. He is always accompained by his wife Rati and friend Vasant. In vedic  timeshe was represented these days.