Pongal (பொங்கல்) is the main harvest festival of Tamil Hindus. It is celebrated every year on 14-15 January. Traditionally, it is a festival dedicated to prosperity in which rain, sunshine, agriculture and domestic animals are worshipped to bring prosperity.
Just like Makar Sankranti in North India and Lohri in Punjab, Pongal is celebrated in South India. Pongal is especially a festival of farmers.
Lord Surya is the chief of the nine planets. The Sun transits through the 12 zodiac signs in sequence, due to which the relative position of all the planets changes and it has auspicious and inauspicious effects on people.
When Lord Surya enters the zodiac sign of Jupiter i.e. Pisces and Sagittarius. Then the time interval of the Sun entering and leaving the zodiac sign of Jupiter is called Kharmas.
According to the Hindu calendar, Sankranti means the transition of the Sun from one zodiac sign to another. In some parts of India, each Sankranti is marked as the beginning of a month. On the other hand, in some other parts, a Sankranti is marked as the end of each month and the next day as the beginning of a new month.
In Hindu calendar, the 11th tithi of every month is called Ekadashi. Ekadashi is considered to be a tithi dedicated to Lord Vishnu. As there are two phases in a month, there are two Ekadashi, one in Shukla Paksha and the other in Krishna Paksha. Thus, there can be at least 24 Ekadashi in a year, but in case of Adhik Maas, this number can be 26.
According to the Hindu calendar, Durga Ashtami fast is observed on the Ashtami date of Shukla Paksha every month. On this day, devotees of Goddess Durga worship her and fast for the whole day.
It has special significance in Hinduism, it is said that worshiping all the forms of Maa Durga in a systematic manner leads to the attainment of desired results. Monthly Durgashtami is also known as Mas Durgashtami or Masik Durgashtami. Let us know about the importance and beliefs of this monthly Durga Ashtami fast:
Shakambhari Navratri also known as Banda Ekadashi is an iconic festival dedicated to the Shakambhari avatar of Goddess Durga, who is the symbol of nourishment and health. It is celebrated in the month of Paush of the Hindu lunar calendar. It is also known as Paush Gupt Navratri. Fasting is observed in the honour of Goddess Shakambhari in this festival celebrated from Paush Shukla Ashtami to Paush Purnima.
Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti is celebrated on the birth anniversary of the tenth and last Guru of the Sikhs, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. In the Sikh sect, the birth anniversary of the Gurus is known as Prakash Parv.
Bhairav Jayanti festival is dedicated to Baba Bhairav Nath, the fearsome form of Lord Shiva. Being the day of Paush Shukla Dwitiya, this festival is also called Bhairav Dwitiya. Bhairav Jayanti is celebrated with different dates in different parts of India.
It is also known as Bhairavashtami, Bhairav Jayanti, Kaal-Bhairav Ashtami and Kaal-Bhairav Jayanti. Bhairav is worshipped especially for success, wealth, health and obstacle removal. The devotee gets freedom from the fear of sin and death by observing a fast on Bhairav Ashtami.
The special combination of constellations is called Panchak. When the moon is in Aquarius and Pisces, then that time is called Panchak. In astrology, Panchak is not considered an auspicious constellation. It is considered a combination of inauspicious and harmful constellations.
Ganesh Chaturthi fast is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. On this day, special worship of Ganesha is done. According to the Panchang, two Chaturthi come every month. One in Shukla Paksha and one in Krishna Paksha.
The Chaturthi of Krishna Paksha falling every month is called Sankashti Chaturthi, while the Chaturthi of Shukla Paksha is called Vinayak Chaturthi. On this day, Lord Ganesha, the destroyer of obstacles, is worshiped.
