Maha Navami and Vijaya Dashami

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Maha Navami and Vijaya Dashami

 

Vijaya Dashami also known as Dasara, Dashahara, Navaratri, Durgotdsav…

is one of the very important & fascinating festivals of India, which

is celebrated in the lunar month of Ashwin (usually in September or

October) from the Shukla Paksha Pratipada (the next of the New moon

day of Bhadrapada) to the Dashami or the tenth day of Ashwin.

 

It is interesting to note that this festival is celebrated not only in

India but in many eastern countries like Java, Sumatra, Japan etc...

Dasara is Nepal's national festival.

 

This is the most auspicious festival in the Dakshinaayana or in the

Southern hemisphere motion of the Sun. In Sanskrit, 'Vijaya' means

Victory and 'Dashami' means 10th day. 'Thus Vijaya Dashami' means

victory on the 10th day.

 

Dasara is also known as Navaratri, as in the first nine days the

Divine Mother Goddess Durga is worshipped and invoked in different

manifestations of her Shakti. The 10th day is in honor of Durga Devi.

The basic purpose behind this festival is to worship feminine

principle of the Universe in the form of the divine mother to remind

the teachings of the Taitareeya Upanishad, " Matru Devo Bhava. "

Essence of the navaratri celebration at social level is to remind &

respect all the women, who are the guardians of the family, culture,

and national integrity, to take lead in times of crisis to guide the

humanity towards the path of social justice, righteousness, equality,

love, and divinity.

 

In India harvest season begins at this time and as mother earth is the

source of all food the Mother Goddess is invoked to start afresh the

new harvest season and to reactivate the vigor and fertility of the

soil by doing religious performances and rituals which invoke cosmic

forces for the rejuvenation of the soil.

 

Dashami is celebrated in different forms in different parts of India.

In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is mainly celebrated to pay obeisance to

Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning.

 

Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahma and is the Goddess of Wisdom

and Knowledge. She is the personification of knowledge - arts,

science, crafts. She represents Shakti, creativity and inspiration and

presents herself when the weather is pleasant and Nature is in its

full grandeur. It is a season of inspiration and passion.

 

Celebrations: The most significant aspect of this day is that Hindu

children are taught reading and writing their first words on this day

- as it is considered an auspicious day to begin a child's education.

Educational institutions organize special prayers for Saraswati on

this day.

 

Saintly people and people inclined towards spiritual progress attach

great importance to the worship of goddess Saraswati. As a practice,

only educated people and men of principle worship goddess Saraswati

for spiritual enlightenment. In their opinion, there can be no

comparison between the king and the learned or the spiritually

advanced. They believe that the king is honoured within his kingdom,

whereas the learned are respected or worshipped throughout the world.

 

Hinduism has taken into account special significance of the seasons

and interwoven them with religious festivals. During Vasant Panchami,

seasons undergo change and the coming of springtime is heralded. After

the chilly winter, trees display new shoots and new life is evident in

the woods and fields. Nature decorates the mango trees with new

blossoms, and the crops in the fields enliven with the evidence of new

life.

 

Families gather together before the idol of Saraswati and pray for the

blessing of knowledge. Flowers and wild berries are offered to the

goddess and students place their books before the deity and do not do

any reading or writing that day. An elaborate puja, with sandalwood,

ghee, joss sticks, and incense is done to the sound of shlokas, conch

shells, and drums. On this day, people eat vegetarian food and

initiate children into the world of the written word. Traditionally,

priests make children write the word 'Om'.

 

 

Legends: Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of learning and speech (Vak).

She represents the union of power and intelligence from which

organized creation arises. Saraswati possesses all the learnings of

the Vedas, scriptures, dances, musical power and poetry. She revealed

language and writing to man. Her origin is traced to the lost Vedic

river Saraswati. This is the source of her profound connection to

fluidity in every aspect. She embodies wisdom, fortune, intelligence,

nourishment, brilliance, contentment, splendor and devotion.

 

Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, art and music is the daughter of

lord Shiva and goddess Durga. It is believed that goddess Saraswati

endows human beings with the powers of speech, wisdom and learning.

She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in

learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego. She has sacred

scriptures in one hand and a lotus - the symbol of true knowledge - in

the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and

life on a string instrument called the veena . She is dressed in white

- the symbol of purity - and rides on a white swan - symbolising

Sattwa Guna or purity and discrimination.

 

On the day of Dasara, statues of the Goddess Durga are submerged in

the river waters. These statues are made with the clay & the pooja is

performed with turmeric and other pooja items, which are powerful

disinfectants and are mixed in the river waters. This makes water

useful for the farmers & yields better crops.

 

Veda Vyasa is considered as the foremost Guru and Vijayadasami is also

celebrated as Vyasa puja.

 

Dasara is the festival of Victory of Good over Bad, God over Devil.

 

 

Om Namo Narayanaya:

Sunil Menon