Basant Panchami 2009 – Vasant Panjami

Vasanth Panchami, or Basant Panjami, is a popular festival in North India which heralds the arrival of the spring season. ‘Basant’ or ‘Vasant’ means spring and ‘Panchami’ is the fifth day after Amavasi in Magh month when it is celebrated Saraswathi Pooja is performed in North and Eastern parts of India on the day. Yellow color, which symbolizes prosperity and love, is given importance on the day. In 2009, the date of Basant Panchami is January 31.

Vasant Panchami festival is celebrated mainly in North India. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that ‘Vasant’ is one of his forms. Basant Panjami is purely a festival of nature and there is no major scriptural story associated with it as is the case of most Hindu festivals.

Vasant Panchami is essentially welcoming the blossoming nature after the harsh winter.

Great prominence is given to yellow color on Basant Panchami as it signifies the ripening of fruits and crops. The mustard fields in North India blooms during this season giving a yellow coat to nature.

To welcome the pristine nature after a harsh winter, deities in temples and houses are decorated with yellow colored clothes. Similarly, yellow colored food, sweets and fruits are distributed to friends, neighbors and relatives. Yellow sweet rice is cooked and distributed on the day.

Goddess Saraswathi is worshipped by students and teachers on the day in northern and eastern parts of India.

On the day, prayers are offered to Goddess Saraswathi (Goddess of Knowledge), Lord Surya (Sun God), Mother Ganga (Ganges) and Bhu Devi (Mother Earth). The worship of elements in nature is acknowledging the various forms of nature, which sustains human beings, plants and animals.

Similarly, people pay homage to the ancestors on the day and Pitru Tarpan is also performed by some communities.

Vasanth Panchami is also an important bathing day during the Magh Mela

Kite flying is a major activity during the period in many parts of the region.