Saraswati Puja (Hindi: सरस्वती पूजा, Gujarati: સરસ્વતી પૂજા, Tamil: சரஸ்வதி பூஜை, Telugu: సరస్వతి పూజ, Malayalam: സരസ്വതി പൂജ) is an auspicious day dedicated to worshipping Goddess Saraswati and seeking her blessings. On the day of Saraswati Puja, young children embark on their first step to education as the day is considered most auspicious for beginning learning in any field.
Where it Saraswati puja celebrated?
Saraswati puja is celebrated throughout India with great enthusiasm. Saraswati Puja is grandly celebrated in many schools and colleges all over the country. In South Indian Saraswati Puja is also celebrated as Ayudha Puja.
Significance of Saraswati Puja celebration
According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Saraswati is considered to be water deity and is worshipped for Her purity and enriching powers. It is also a known fact that Goddess Saraswati invented the language Sanskrit that is known to be the language of scriptures, scholars and Brahmins.
Yellow color hold special significance on this day and people normally dress up in yellow colored clothes and make the same colored sweets as well. The Goddess herself is dressed in yellow and is offered, sweets, fruits, roli, moli and yellow colored flowers. Cultural programmes are hosted at night.
Who celebrates Saraswati Puja?
Saraswati puja is celebrated by Hindus all across the globe. This festival is primarily significant for scholars and students who worship Goddess Saraswati with dedication to acquire wisdom and knowledge. On the tenth day of Navaratri, Vidyarambham is celebrated- a day when children are blessed and first introduced to the world of letters.
How it is celebrated?
On the day of Saraswati puja, Hindus worship Goddess Saraswati and make offering to the Devi to seek blessings. Also Kamadeva, the lord of love is also worshipped and Brahmins are fed as a part of the customs. Pitr Tarpan, a way of worshipping ancestors is also performed on this day. Children are made to write their first words on the auspicious day of Saraswati puja. Pushpanjali is offered to please the Goddess of Knowledge.
Goddess Saraswati or Saraswati Devi is the Hindu Goddess of knowledge, learning, wisdom and music, and hence, is the most popular among students of all domains. It is believed that Goddess Saraswati is the creator and donor of knowledge and bestows the power of wisdom, learning, music and arts on people.
When is Saraswati Puja?
Saraswati Puja is celebrated twice a year - one on the day of Ayudha Puja during the Navaratri festival days (popular in South India) in September/October and the other on the day of Vasant Panchami in January/February. Saraswati Puja during Vasant Panchami is celebrated throughout India and is more popular among the two.
Basant panchami Saraswati puja is on January 30, 2020 Thursday
Basant Panchami Puja Muhurt : January 29, 10:46 am - January 30, 12:40 pm
Navratri Saraswati puja rituals 2020 starts on October 22, Thursday and Ayudha Puja / Saraswati Puja 2020 is on October 25, Sunday
सरस्वती हिन्दू धर्म की प्रमुख देवियों में से एक हैं। वे ब्रह्मा की मानसपुत्री हैं जो विद्या की अधिष्ठात्री देवी मानी गई हैं। इनका नामांतर 'शतरूपा' भी है। इसके अन्य पर्याय हैं, वाणी, वाग्देवी, भारती, शारदा, वागेश्वरी इत्यादि। ये शुक्लवर्ण, श्वेत वस्त्रधारिणी, वीणावादनतत्परा तथा श्वेतपद्मासना कही गई हैं। इनकी उपासना करने से मूर्ख भी विद्वान् बन सकता है। माघ शुक्ल पंचमी को इनकी पूजा की परिपाटी चली आ रही है। देवी भागवत के अनुसार ये ब्रह्मा की स्त्री हैं।
सरस्वती माँ के अन्य नामों में शारदा, शतरूपा, वीणावादिनी, वीणापाणि, वाग्देवी, वागेश्वरी, भारती आदि कई नामों से जाना जाता है।
परिचय सरस्वती को साहित्य, संगीत, कला की देवी माना जाता है। उसमें विचारणा, भावना एवं संवेदना का त्रिविध समन्वय है। वीणा संगीत की, पुस्तक विचारणा की और [[हंस] वाहन कला की अभिव्यक्ति है। लोक चर्चा में सरस्वती को शिक्षा की देवी माना गया है। शिक्षा संस्थाओं में वसंत पंचमी को सरस्वती का जन्म दिन समारोह पूर्वक मनाया जाता है। पशु को मनुष्य बनाने का - अंधे को नेत्र मिलने का श्रेय शिक्षा को दिया जाता है। मनन से मनुष्य बनता है। मनन बुद्धि का विषय है। भौतिक प्रगति का श्रेय बुद्धि-वर्चस् को दिया जाना और उसे सरस्वती का अनुग्रह माना जाना उचित भी है। इस उपलब्धि के बिना मनुष्य को नर-वानरों की तरह वनमानुष जैसा जीवन बिताना पड़ता है। शिक्षा की गरिमा-बौद्धिक विकास की आवश्यकता जन-जन को समझाने के लिए सरस्वती पूजा की परम्परा है। इसे प्रकारान्तर से गायत्री महाशक्ति के अंतगर्त बुद्धि पक्ष की आराधना कहना चाहिए।
कहते हैं कि महाकवि कालिदास, वरदराजाचार्य, वोपदेव आदि मंद बुद्धि के लोग सरस्वती उपासना के सहारे उच्च कोटि के विद्वान् बने थे। इसका सामान्य तात्पर्य तो इतना ही है कि ये लोग अधिक मनोयोग एवं उत्साह के साथ अध्ययन में रुचिपूवर्क संलग्न हो गए और अनुत्साह की मनःस्थिति में प्रसुप्त पड़े रहने वाली मस्तिष्कीय क्षमता को सुविकसित कर सकने में सफल हुए होंगे। इसका एक रहस्य यह भी हो सकता है कि कारणवश दुर्बलता की स्थिति में रह रहे बुद्धि-संस्थान को सजग-सक्षम बनाने के लिए वे उपाय-उपचार किए गए जिन्हें 'सरस्वती आराधना' कहा जाता है। उपासना की प्रक्रिया भाव-विज्ञान का महत्त्वपूर्ण अंग है। श्रद्धा और तन्मयता के समन्वय से की जाने वाली साधना-प्रक्रिया एक विशिष्ट शक्ति है। मनःशास्त्र के रहस्यों को जानने वाले स्वीकार करते हैं कि व्यायाम, अध्ययन, कला, अभ्यास की तरह साधना भी एक समर्थ प्रक्रिया है, जो चेतना क्षेत्र की अनेकानेक रहस्यमयी क्षमताओं को उभारने तथा बढ़ाने में पूणर्तया समर्थ है। सरस्वती उपासना के संबंध में भी यही बात है। उसे शास्त्रीय विधि से किया जाय तो वह अन्य मानसिक उपचारों की तुलना में बौद्धिक क्षमता विकसित करने में कम नहीं, अधिक ही सफल होती है।
मन्दबुद्धि लोगों के लिए गायत्री महाशक्ति का सरस्वती तत्त्व अधिक हितकर सिद्घ होता है। बौद्धिक क्षमता विकसित करने, चित्त की चंचलता एवं अस्वस्थता दूर करने के लिए सरस्वती साधना की विशेष उपयोगिता है। मस्तिष्क-तंत्र से संबंधित अनिद्रा, सिर दर्द्, तनाव, जुकाम जैसे रोगों में गायत्री के इस अंश-सरस्वती साधना का लाभ मिलता है। कल्पना शक्ति की कमी, समय पर उचित निणर्य न कर सकना, विस्मृति, प्रमाद, दीघर्सूत्रता, अरुचि जैसे कारणों से भी मनुष्य मानसिक दृष्टि से अपंग, असमर्थ जैसा बना रहता है और मूर्ख कहलाता है। उस अभाव को दूर करने के लिए सरस्वती साधना एक उपयोगी आध्यात्मिक उपचार है।
इस तरह शुरू हुई सरस्वती पूजा, जानें पूजा की विधि और कथा
बसंत पंचमी का त्योहार माघ शुक्ल पक्ष की प ..
Saraswati Puja is dedicated to the goddess of music, art and knowledge called as Saraswati. This festival is celebrated in January or February in the month Magh also called as Basant Panchami or Vasant Panchami.
During Saraswati Puja Brahmins are fed, god of love Kamadeva is worshipped, special prayers for goddess Saraswati are organized by many educational institutions, Pitr Tarpan or ancestor worship is performed and children are taught to write their first words. On this day, yellow color is considered very important and therefore people dress up themselves in yellow color clothes, consume yellow sweets, and worship Saraswati in yellow clothes. The goddess is offered yellow flowers, gulal, fruits, yellow colored sweets, roli and moli.
Goddess Saraswati is represented as a graceful woman in white, a symbol of purity and peace. She is the Goddess who signifies knowledge, learning, arts and culture. She is seen as the serene Goddess wearing a crescent moon on her brow riding a swan or seated on a lotus flower. Saraswati Puja is performed to pay allegiance to the Goddess of learning.
Goddess Saraswati is the presiding deity of the spoken word. She is considered to be Lord Brahma's ‘maanasa putrika' though later events led to their marriage and they began to be worshipped as the primordial couple.
Mounting on her divine vehicle Swan, she plays on Kachchapi, her veena andis worshipped as the presiding deity of all knowledge.
She resides in Satyaloka along with her consort Lord Brahma. Narada, the celestial saint is their ‘maanasa putra'.
The legend has it, that once Lord Brahma utters a lie of having sighted the nether portion of Shiva Linga and Lord Shiva, angered by the false claim curses Brahma that his speech (Saraswati) be converted to a river. It is believed that the dry parched region of the present day That desert is at one time a stretch of River Saraswati.
To this day, scientists believe that the river still flows underneath the Thar and attempts are onto trace the river. At any confluence of two rivers, Saraswati is deemed to be hidden underneath and thus the place assumes the nomenclature Triveni. Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers in Prayaga, Pranahita, Godavari and Saraswati rivers in Kaleswaram (Karimnagar district in Andhra Pradesh) are a case in point.
Uniqueness of Saraswati:
The term Saraswati envelops a vast expanse of meaning ranging from Vaagdevi, river, Vedamata and to the giver of knowledge. The celestial mother Aadishakti manifested herself as Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati. Hence Goddess Saraswati is considered to be the very epitome of Sakthi or Cosmic Power.
Not only mortals, but even the celestial beings in Heaven are said to be the beneficiaries of Saraswati's benevolence. Her shower of mercy empowers speech and all other fine arts. Poets have sung her glory sayign that her breasts are centres of nourishment especially for music and literature.
Etymology:
The word Saraswati means a string of rivers. The goddess is also known by synonyms like Braahmi, Bharati, Bhaasha, Geeh, Vaak, Vaani, Saarada, Saraswati, Maha Sookta, Kaadambari to name a few. All the letters in the alphabet are considered to be the different forms of the goddess.
Appearance:
Saraswati beams a pristine white mounting on a white swan. Dressed in white she wears a garland of white pearls. Whe plays on the divine veena with a lace of beeads in one hand a book in the other. She also adorns parrot in one hand and a lotus in the other.
Temples:
Saraswati temples dot the whole stretch of India and also in places like Tibet, Java, Japan and China. She is worshipped notn only by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists but also by people all over the world. The Chinese worship her as Neela Saraswati, an Indian version of Syaamaladevi. Mahaakavi Kaalidasa composed Syaamala Dandakam in praise of Syaamalaamba.
The most ancient temple of Saraswati is in Kashmir.
Saraswati's idol belonging to the second century was unearthed in Khajjaali Leeta near Madhura in Uttar Pradesh.
Samudragupta and kings belonging to Gowda dynasty engraved Saraswati images on their coins.
Saraswati's idol is present in Somnath, a Buddhist pilgrimage centre.
Her idols are to be seen in British museum and also in museums in Allahabad, Lucknow, Dhaka and Gwalior.
There is a Saraswati temple at Baasara in Mudhol taluq in Adilabad district (Andhra Pradesh).
An idol of Saraswati dating back to 2 BC is present in Ghantasaala in Godavari district (AP).
Similarly we find the idols of this goddess in Samalkot and Bheemavaram.
Brihadeswara temple in Tanjore, Halebeed in Karnataka, Madhura and Sree Rengam temples in Tamil Nadu.
Adi Sankaracharya consecration of Saraswati idol in Sringeri is quite a significant one.
Of late, an idol of the goddess was consecrated in Sanigaram, near Sidhipet on Hyderabad-Karimnagar Highway in Andhra Pradesh.
Anidol by Birla in Rajasthan, Kaaleswaram and at Shakarmutt in Hyderabad are worthy places of worship.
Goddess Saraswati is deemed to have born on Sudha Panchami in Maagha (February according to the English caledar). Hence celebrations to mar her birthday on Vasantha Panchami take on in all the Saraswati temples.
She is also worshipped in the form of a book during Dussehra on Sapthami or seventh day when Moola Nakshatra is on the ascent. In Maharashtra, Saarada Navaraatri is celebrated during Dussehra from Sapthami to Dashami. Idols of Mahakaali are worshipped and later immersed in water. Saraswati pooja can be taken up either on Maagha Panchami day or on Moola Nakshatra in Dussehra. For those who wish to worship her every week Thursday is said to be her favourite day.
For those who wish to worship her every day, can chant 108 (Ashtottaram) attributes or 100 attributes (Satanaamam) and 100 naamaas of Goddess Saraswati available in booklets.
MODE OF WORSHIP:
A photograph or illustration of Goddess Saraswati should be placed on a slightly elevated platform with a ‘SREE', which symbolises the goddes in letter. This symbol should be written five times on a paer.
Holy books like Ramayana or the Bhagawadgeetha should also be placed.
Material required
Turmeric, Kumkum, unbroken rice grains, incense sticks, camphor, betel nuts, leaves, two oil lamps, fruits, sugar, panchaamrutam (a mixture of sugar, milk, honey, curds and ghee) are required along with coconut, sandalwood, flower garland, a new piece of cloth, Saraswati pooja book.
Offerings, which are white in colour like creams, milk, parched paddy, parched rice, jaggery, gingelly balls, sugar cane, white rice, coconut and while flowers are said to be her favourites. At the end of the pooja, it is conventional to render a few songs or slokas followed by her mangala haarathi and Mantrapushpa.
The glory of this divine mother is sung by various saints and sages and there are many books which sketchout the greatness of this goddess. To beginwith, Vyaasa, Vaalmeeki, Kaalidaasa, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Agastya, Sankaraacharya, Bhoja Raja, Ganesha, surya, Rama and Indra authored Saraswati slokas. Among the poets of Andhra, starting with Nannyya, the foremost of all poets, every one of them sang her glory in their prose and poetry
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