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THE FESTIVE SEASON
Priti Gupta, Mumbai, India
Ashadh Ashadh Ashadh Sud
Sud
Ekadashi Ekadashi Ekadashi : : Generally
the festival season
starts from Ashadh Sud
Ekadashi. This is the day
which marks the
beginning of the four holy
months as per Hindu
calendar. Our Puranas
(Scriptures) tell us that
on this day lord Vishnu took the form of Dwarf i.e. Vamana
and then descended in Kshirsagar, the ocean of milk.
8
I would like to welcome you all to this season of auspicious festivals. We celebrate many
festivals in India. In this article, I would provide the significance of a few important festivals.
INDIA LINK, 2011
Guru Guru Guru Purnima: Purnima: Ashadh
Sud Ekadashi is followed
by Guru Purnima on Ashadh
Sud 15. The first Guru in
Hinduism is Veda Vyasa,
who wrote the eighteenth
Purana. His birth day is
celebrated on Guru
Purnima.
Hindola Hindola Utsav: Utsav: Another
festival that signifies love
and devotion for God is the
Hindola Utsav (swing
festival), celebrated for a
month from Ashadh vad 2nd to
Shravan vad 2nd .
Naag Naag Panchami:
Panchami: Panchami: Naag
Panchami, or Shravan sud
panchami follows Hindola
utsav. It represents the
day when the soil, heated
during the summer, is
cooled by the rain and the underground creatures such as,
snakes come up to the surface. On this day Hindus worship
and offer Milk to Naag (snake) and.
Raksha Raksha Bandhan Bandhan or
or
Shravan Shravan Purnima: Purnima: On
this auspicious day,
Brahmins change their
janaeu (sacred thread), and
sisters tie Rakhi (a
protective thread) on the
wrist of their brothers.
Several stories of Puranas
are well known that relate
to raksha Bandhan, but
those are outside the scope
of this article.
Janmasthami: Janmasthami: More than
5000 year ago at 12 midnight
Shri Krishna was born in a jail
of Vasudeva and Devki. For
centuries the story of Krishna’s
birth and his raasleela
(playfulness) have been sung
and cited, re-enacted and
celebrated, infusing devotion and peace in the heart of
millions.
Vijaya ijaya
Dashmi Dashmi
Dashmi
The tenth
day of
Asho Sud
Dashm
a l s o
called Vijaya Dashmi is celebrated
with great fanfare.. According to
Purana, for Nine days maa Durga and
Ganesh Ganesh Chaturthi: Chaturthi: Our holy
books tell interesting stories
about the birth of Ganesh.
Ganapati is remembered as a
God of profound intelligence as
reflected in his large elephant
head. His ears symbolize his
patience to listen to our
innumerable prayers.
Navratri: Navratri: Navratri: Festival of fast
and worshiping Devi Amba,
and Devi Durga, known for
empowering
devotees.
(shakti the