Saraswati Pooja 2023: Everything we need to know

The Hindu festival of Basant Panchami, also known as Vasant Panchami, Shri Panchami, and Saraswati Panchami, is celebrated on the first day of spring and falls on the fifth day of the month of Magh. It also heralds the start of Holi preparations, which take place forty days following the feast. Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning, music, and the arts are honored throughout the festival.

Basant Panchami 2023: Date and Pooja timings

Basant Panchami will be commemorated this year on January 26. According to drikpanchang.com, the Panchami Tithi will begin at 12:49 PM on January 25, 2023, and terminate at 10:43 AM on January 26, 2023. The festival's auspicious hour is from 7:12 am to 12:34 pm.

Basant Panchami 2023: History

According to legend, Kalidasa, distraught over his wife's abandonment, planned to commit suicide by drowning himself in a river. He was about to do so when the Goddess Saraswati appeared from the water and invited Kalidasa to bathe in it. His life changed after that when he was endowed with wisdom and became a great poet.

Another legend is based on the Hindu god of love, Kama, and according to mythology, Kamadeva once disrupted Lord Shiva's meditation after his wife Sati's death. Seers approached Kama to awaken Shiva from his meditation so that he could reconnect with the world and notice Goddess Parvati's efforts for him.

Kama concurred and used his sugarcane-made bow to shoot arrows at Shiva that was developed of flowers and bees. Kama was destroyed by the third eye of Lord Shiva, who had become furious. Shiva promised to resurrect him on Basant Panchami after Rati (his wife) completed a 40-day fast. He supposedly afterwards gave birth to the son of Lord Krishna named Pradumna.

Basant Panchami 2023: Significance

On this day, the color yellow holds a lot of significance. People dress in yellow for the festival, worship the Goddess Saraswati, and consume customary foods. Yellow is a sign of both knowledge and the fields of mustard, which signal the beginning of spring.

Basant Panchami 2023: Celebrations

Throughout the nation, Basant Panchami is celebrated with slightly diverse customs, and wonderful traditional foods are prepared and savored on this day. 

It is known as Sri Panchami in the southern states. Flowers are exchanged as gifts, and bouquets and garlands are decorated with mango leaves. On this day, people worship Shiva and Parvati.