Sharad Purnima 2021: According to the Hindu calendar, the festival of Sharad Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day of Ashwin month. This year Sharad Purnima will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
Sharad Purnima is also known as Kojagari Purnima or Ras Purnima. Sharad Purnima has great importance in Hinduism. According to astrologers, out of the whole year, only on the day of Sharad Purnima, the Moon is full of sixteen arts. According to religious belief, nectar showers from the sky on this day. Moon is worshiped on the day of Sharad Purnima. It is believed that winter begins from this day. According to religious texts, the moon is closest to the earth on this day. The milky light of the moon bathes the earth. And amidst these flood lights, the festival of full moon is celebrated.
Sharad Purnima Significance:
Sharad Purnima Kheer is kept under the open sky on the day of Sharad Purnima and this Kheer is offered to Lakshmi ji after one watch of the night. Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped on this day (laxmi puja on sharad purnima). According to Naradpuran, it is believed that on this day Lakshmi Maa roams around with a bride and abbey in her hands. On this day, Goddess Lakshmi blesses her waking devotees with wealth and splendor. Aarti is performed in the evening with gold, silver or earthen lamps.
Along with Lakshmi ji, Lord Vishnu is also worshipped. It is believed that during the churning of the ocean, Mahalakshmi appeared during the churning on the full moon day of the month of Maha Ashwin. For this reason Lakshmi ji is worshiped on the day of Sharad Purnima. On this day Lakshmi Maa roams around at night. The devotee who meditates and worships Mahalakshmi throughout the night gets special blessings of Lakshmi ji.
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Sharad Purnima date and auspicious time:
Sharad Purnima or Kojagari Purnima is falling on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
Purnima date begins: October 19, 2021 at 07 pm, full moon date ends: October 20, 2021 at 08:20 pm
Sharad Purnima Puja Method:
- On this day, wake up at Brahma Muhurta and take a bath in a holy river.
- If you cannot bathe in the river, then after bathing in the water of Gangajal at home, wear clean clothes.
- Now spread a red cloth on a wooden post or pad and purify it with Gangajal.
- Install the idol of Goddess Lakshmi on the post and wear a red chunari.
- Now worship Goddess Lakshmi duly with red flowers, perfume, naivedya, incense-lamp, betel nut etc.
- After this, recite Lakshmi Chalisa in front of Maa Lakshmi.
- Perform aarti after the worship is over.
- Worship the mother and Lord Vishnu again in the evening and offer Arghya to the moon.
- Make a kheer made of rice and cow’s milk and keep it in the light of the moon.
- Offer Kheer to Goddess Lakshmi in the middle of the night and feed it to all the family members as Prasad.
Why Is Rice Kheer Kept In The MoonLight?
Sharad Purnima Rice Kheer: According to legends, on Sharad Purnima Lord Krishna performed the dance of divine love or Maha-Raas. In Brijbhoomi the day is known as Raas Purnima. Rice kheer is traditionally made today.
Married women observe fast and offer special bhog of rice kheer to the gods. Devotees keep the rice kheer in the moonlight all night and believe that the rays of the moon on Sharad Purnima have special qualities of healing. The next day it is distributed as prasad. Keeping the rice kheer under moon light has been a traditional practice on Sharad Purnima.
Facts about Sharad Purnima Festival in India:
- Like Dussehra, Sharad Purnima or Full-moon festival is observed in different ways, in different parts of India. It falls on the fifth day following Dussehra. Goddess Lakshmi presides over the festivity in some parts of the country, while Lord Krishna is worshipped in some other parts. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Krishna symbolizes eternal love. According to their traditional culture and beliefs, the regional communities of India celebrate Sharad Purnima in different ways, unique to their identity.
- Once Bengalis are blessed with peace due to divine victory over evil during Durga Puja, they get busy preparing for the worship of Goddess Lakshmi in order to be blessed with prosperity on the full-moon night. This full-moon night which is known as Sharad Purnima all over the country is called Kojagori Purnima in West Bengal. Bengalis reverently call Goddess Lakshmi as Ma Lokkhi. The ritual of decorating the floor with alpana from the entrance to the interior is performed in every house.
- Most of the households in Bengal worship Ma Lokkhi by offering flowers, homemade sweets and devotion to the idol of the Goddess sitting on a lotus. Among the homemade sweets, narkel nadu is a special offering to Ma Lokkhi. This festive dessert is made from fine gratings of coconut kernel, mixed with sugar, milk, ghee and dry fruits. Special porridge (called khichuri in Bengali language) is cooked in the kitchens of Bengali households, on the Kojagori Purnima evening.
- In India, the state of Odisha or Orissa celebrates Sharad Purnima in two different ways. Some communities worship the Sun and the Moon on this occasion, while Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped on this pious day in some other communities. In Odisha, Sharad Purnima is also known as Kumar Purnima in honor of Kartikeya, the God of war in the Hindu mythology of India. Kartikeya, son of Lord Shiva, is the handsomest god who is worshipped by young girls in hope of getting handsome husbands.
- After a holy bath in the morning, the girls cook several various food items to offer to the Sun Gold and adorn their necks with fresh garlands during worship. They keep fasting for the day. They break the day-long fast once the worship of the moon in the evening is over. They sing, dance and play a special game, Puchi, to rejoice in the festivity. The people of Odisha also observe Sharad Purnima as the birthday of Lakshmi. They play dice and some other indoor games to keep awake the whole night.
- In north India, Sharad Purnima is popularly known as Raas Purnima. In the Hindu Mythology, there is a story of Raas Purnima from the life of Lord Krishna. According to the story, it is believed that during his human incarnation on earth, Lord Krishna used to play raas (a traditional folk dance) with Gopis, his female admirers in Vrindavan. It was the night of Sharad Purnima when he played maha raas with his beloved Radha and Gopis on the bank of Yamuna River. In different parts of north India, young boys and girls enact Raas Leela on the festive evening.
