BHUBANESWAR: Girls celebrated the occasions of Kumara Purnima Utsav and Gajalaxmi Puja with great zeal and enthusiasm across the Twin City Sunday.
Kumara Purnima is a harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin (September to October), marking the end of the monsoon season.
On this day, unmarried women in Odisha keep fast with the popular belief of getting their suitable groom (kumara). This festival starts with maidens welcoming the sun god just at sunrise with a coconut-leaf-made-vessel called ‘kula’ filled with fried paddy containing 7 fruits like coconut, banana, cucumber, betel nut, sugar-cane, guava followed by ‘Aarti’.
In the evening they break their fast by preparing a dish containing fried paddy of the morning along with the fruits, curd, and jaggery to offer the moon god before the ‘tulsi’ plant. After this maidens play games and sing songs under the light of the full moon.
The Kojagari Purnima concerns the observance of the Kojagara Vrata. People perform this Vrata under the moonlight after fasting for the day. Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of Wealth, is significantly worshipped on this day as it is believed to be her birthday. Lord Indra, the God of Rains, seated on his elephant, Airavata is also worshipped as also is Lord Shiva with his consort Parvati and carrier Nandi.
The devotee breaks the fast at night by taking parched rice and milk after offering them to the moon-god. Vivid descriptions of this night are given in Brahma Purana, Skanda Purana, and the Linga Purana. It is said in these Puranas that Goddess Lakshmi takes rounds of the earth to watch the actions of human beings during this night.
Interacting with Orissa Post, Sagarika Tiki, a home maker said, “It is believed that the moon is at its full glory during this puja. It is also believed drops of Amrit (immortal fluid) drips on planet Earth on this day. Hence, this moonlight is believed to possess amazing medical and nourishing properties. Today my daughter celebrated her first Kumar Purnima and completed the puja with all rituals.”
A young journalist Swapna Nayak said, “I kept fast today and wore new clothes while offering Anjali to the Moon God. I also performed a Ghata Puja at a Gajalaxmi Puja mandap.”
A servitor of Saheed Nagar Vishnu Mandir Lokesh Panda said, “It is believed that Goddess Lakshmi was born on this day. If devotees stay vigil all night and offer special prayers to Maa Lakshmi, she bestows them with wealth and prosperity. Staying awake under the moonlight is believed to rejuvenate the body.”
Odia blogger Parba Radhika Mishra said, “Odisha is known as the land of festivals. At least 13 major festivals are celebrated in a year, which only reaffirms the fact that the people love to enjoy, mingle and take a break from everyday worries.”