In India, the Hindu devotees are all set to celebrate the divine festival of Mahadev(Lord Shiva), considered by many Granthas as the destroyer of the world. Sawan is celebrated in the fifth month according to the Hindu calender, it begins from the first day of the full moon and ends in the third week of August, the day of the next full moon day. In Tamil, this festival is known as Avani and it is the fifth month of the solar year. This festival is very important one for the Hindus in the entire sub-continent. During this festival devotees perform fast on each Monday of the festival to pray Lord Shiva and according to the Drik Panchang on Tuesday they fast for Goddess Parvati which is also known as "Mangal Gauri Vrat" It is believed that on the Poornima of full moon day the stars rule the skies hence the name Shravan Nakshatra is derived from this. Today in this Blog I will share a very interesting story behind the celebration of this festival and how it is celebrated across India.
Image Credit: jansatta.com
The Story:
According to the Hindu puranas there was a very important event which occurred in the life of Lord Shiva named as "Samudra Manthan" which literally means the churning of the ocean for "Amrit". During this episode innumerable amount of precious jewels, gems, Kaamdhenu cow and an elephant named Airawat had came out from the ocean. Also there were 14 precious gems, out of which 13 were distributed among the "Devas" and "Asuras" but one gem name "Halahal" remained untouched by the gods because it was the most poisonous material which had the power to destroy the entire world and living creatures on the planet. Lord Shiva came to rescue the world and he consumed the poison and held it in his throat. The poison was so powerful that Shiva turned blue in colour(due to this reason he is also called Neelkanth).
The power of the poison had a severe impact on the lord her wore a crescent moon on his head and all the demons and dieties started pouring the holy ganga water on lord shiva so that the effect of the poison could reduce. The event occured during this month. Hence it is celebrate as Sawan or Shravan in some parts of North India. This year the Sawan begins on 14th of July till 12th August.
The Celebration:
The festival lasts of about a month and devotees pour milk or the holy ganga water on the shivling and pray to the lord for their healthy and happy living the festival is also followed my keeping fasts on every Monday to please the lord. While Monday's are dedicated to Lord Shiva, Tuesday's are dedicated to Goddess Parvati, it is believed that if the unmarried girls keep Vrat of fast on Tuesday' then the lord will bless with the desired husband of their choice this is also known as "Mangal Gauri Vrat". Every day the devotees prepare the "Panchamrit" which is a mixture of curd, milk, butter or ghee, honey and jaggery). The entire month is devoted to various practices which include:
Kanwar Yatra;
Sawan is also known for Kanwar Yatra lakhs of devotees walk a long distance form Gaumukh to Haridwar or wherever river Ganga flows, they collect the holy water and pour it on the Shivlinga wherever it is available.
Image Credit: indiatvnews.com
Rituals to follow during Sawan:
- Offering Ganga Jal or Milk to Lord Shiva will earn a lot of Punyas.
- The devotees wake up early in the morning, take a holy bath, wear nice clothes and start doing puja.
- The devotees must recite the Shiv Chalisa or the Sawan Mantra.
- Wear Rudraksha and use it for Japas.
- Bhibut is also considered to be very important and also it should be applied on the forehead.
- Offer Panchamrit and white sweets to lord shiva.
- Fast on all sawan somwars and mangalwars, this is very important for the devotees who want a good or a desired husband of their choice.
Written by Sujal Vishwakarma.
Content Credit= Hindustan Times, The Times of India
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