Basant Panchami 2023: Know the Significance of This Festival, Date, Puja Timings and Mantras

Hindus all across the country celebrate Basant Panchami, also known as Saraswati Puja, to honour the goddess, Saraswati. It marks the start of spring season and it is observed on the fifth day of the month of "Magha."

Basant Panchami this year will be celebrated on Thursday, January 26, however the celebrations will start on Wednesday, January 25.

On Basant Panchami, worshippers offer the deity yellow flowers, rose, water offerings, incense, lamps, and other objects. Yellow-coloured treats, yellow sweet rice, and yellow halwa are traditionally presented to the goddess.

In India's eastern states like Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam, Saraswati Puja is celebrated on a huge scale. People revere the goddess Saraswati and visit her temples on this holy day. The majority of educational institutions, including schools, colleges, and universities, mark it as a holiday and host special Saraswati pujas for their pupils on their campuses.

People commemorate this event by flying kites and donning jasmine garlands throughout the central and western regions of India. In Uttarakhand, people worship Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva as the mother and father of the ground, whilst Sikhs offer food to the hungry (known as Langan) to mark the beginning of the yellow festival or new harvest season.

Significance of Basant Panchami

During ancient times, children used to worship Goddess Saraswati before beginning their studies. Writing the Beej Mantra of Goddess Saraswati ("Om as the first syllable of education") has been a tradition from the beginning of time. Many parents make it a point to sit down with their young children on this auspicious day and force them to study or write their first word, "Om," to start their studies. According to the ancient texts, the devotion of Goddess Saraswati was the sole thing that made the great poet Kalidas and the great sages Valmiki, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra, Shaunak, and Vyas successful. Hindus thus observe this ceremony with tremendous fervor and seriousness to get Goddess Saraswati's blessings.

Hindu mythology states that Basant Panchami marks the start of the warm and bountiful spring season after the winter. Farmers reap fresh harvests while taking in the color and brightness of nature.

According to astrology, the spring season is known as Basant, and Basant Panchami, which falls on the fifth day of the bright half of the Hindu month Magh, is such an auspicious period (Muhurta) that it is appropriate for all auspicious occasions including marriage, naming ceremonies, and house warmings. As a result, Hindus carry out all types of rites without thinking twice and without analyzing the Panchang or offering any astrological advice.

Basant Panchami Date & Time

Basant Panchami will be observed on January 25, 2023, from 12:34 p.m. to 12:35 p.m.

Basant Panchami Mantras

The Sattva Guna is the source of the goddess Saraswati, who gives wisdom and creative energy to people who worship her on this day. It is said that reciting the following mantras 51 or 108 times while praising Goddess Saraswati will be beneficial for your academic and professional endeavours as well as any fresh beginnings. Below are several divine mantras.

• Om Shree Saraswatyai Namah

• Om Aim Klim Sauh Shri Mahasaraswatyai Namah

• Om Hrim Aim Hrim Om Saraswatyai Namah

• Om Aim Saraswatyai Namah