Bhubaneswar: Saraswati Puja, also known as Basanta Panchami, is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the waxing moon in the month of Magha.
Saraswati puja coincides with Basant Panchami or Shree Panchami. Known as the deity of arts, education and wisdom, Goddess Saraswati is invoked with rituals at various households and educational institutions across the state with much fervor on this day.
Schools and colleges organise pujas to pay homage to the Goddess of Knowledge. On this day students wake up early in the morning, take bath to perform the puja rituals. They offer ‘puspanjali’ to the Goddess Saraswati for success in their academics. Students place books and reading materials near the idol of Saraswati and worship the Goddess. Amid chanting of hymns, students perform puja with great zeal.
Many parents also choose the day as a symbolic start of learning the alphabets by children.
Moreover, pandals are being erected and large idols are brought to worship Goddess Saraswati at several places.
Going by the legend, after being distraught over his wife’s abandonment, Kalidasa planned to end his life by drowning himself in a river. He was about to take the extreme step when the Goddess Saraswati appeared from the river and invited Kalidasa to take bath in it. It was then he was endowed with wisdom and became a great poet.
On this day, students are advised to wear yellow-coloured dresses as yellow signifies freshness, happiness, positivity, optimism, enlightenment, remembrance, and joy.
Also, today marks the beginning of the chariot making process for the Rath Yatra in Puri. On the day of Shree Panchami, wood logs for Ghosha Yatra arrives to Srimandir. Besides, Basant Panchami marks the end of winter and spring in India.
