Indus Valley Times

By Er Taraprasad Mishra

Jajpur Octo 19 : Odisha, a state in Eastern India, has some unique festivals like the Kumar Purnima, being celebrated today, on the last day of the Ashwin month. Kumar Purnama is the most important festival after Dussehra. The word ‘Kumar’ relates to Kartika, elder son of lord Shiva and Maa Parvati. Purnima relates to the full moon day.

Both symbolize power, prosperity and beauty. On the day, young unmarried girls worship the moon to get these qualities. Kumar Purnima is a harvest festival. It is celebrated on the full moon day of Ashvin (September–October).

There is a traditional celebration of the moon and is also called the ‘Kaumudi celebration’— Kaumudi meaning moonlight. This celebrates Krishna dancing with the Gopi’s. At night, goddess lakshmi is worshiped and night vigil is observed. lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity. She is the wife and stands for Shakti (energy) of Vishnu, a major god in Hinduism.

lakshmi is also an important deity in Jainism and found in Jain temples, as well as on the oldest surviving stupas and cave temples of Buddhism. n Buddhist sects of Tibet, Nepal and Southeast Asia, goddess Vasudhara mirrors the characteristics and attributes of the Hindu goddess lakshmi with minor iconographic differences. lakshmi is also called Srior Thirumagal because she is endowed with six auspicious qualities and basically the divine strength of Vishnu.

In Hindu mythologies, she was born from the churning of the primordial ocean (Samudra Manthan) and she chose Vishnu as her eternal consort.

 When Vishnu descended on the earth in avatars like Rama and Krishna, lakshmi descended as His respective consort, like Sita (Rama’s wife) and Rukmini (Krishna’s wife). In the ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of lakshmi. The marriage and relationship between lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband is the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings.

lakshmi is considered another aspect of the same supreme goddess principle in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. lakshmi is depicted in Indian art as an elegantly dressed, prosperity showering golden-coloured woman with owl as her vehicle, signifying the importance of economic activity in maintenance of life, her ability to move, work and prevail in confusing darkness.

She typically stands or sits like a yogin on a lotus pedestal and holds lotus in her hand, a symbolism for fortune, self-knowledge and spiritual liberation. Her iconography shows her with four hands, which represent the four goals of human life considered important to the Hindu way of life – dharma, kama, artha and moksha Archaeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for goddess lakshmi.

 lakshmi’s iconography and statues have also been found in Hindu temples throughout Southeast Asia, estimated to be from second half of 1st millennium CE. The festivals of Diwali and Sharad Purnima (Kojagiri Purnima) are celebrated in her honor.

 According to a folk tale, once a king fell on evil days, and was in great financial strains, but then his queen observed this fast and night vigil, and worshiped the goddess of wealth, lakshmi. Consequently, they were blessed by the goddess and they regained their prosperity.

At night, worship is offered to goddess lakshmi as well as lord Indra. It is also believed that on this day as moon and the earth are very close to each other, the moon rays have certain healing properties of nourishing the body and the soul.

Kumar Purnima is the full-moon day in the month of September- October. This autumn festival is one of the most popular and important festival of Orissa. ‘Kumar’ or ‘Kartikeya’, the handsome Son of Shiva was born on this day. He also became the ‘God of war’. As young girls always wish for a handsome husband, they propitiate Kumar who was most handsome among the Gods.

But, peculiarly enough there is no ritual for the God, instead the Sun and the Moon are worshipped. In the early morning the girls after their purificatory bath wear new garments and make food-offerings to the Sun. They observe fasting for the day. In the evening when the moon rises they again make food offerings of a special variety and take it after the rituals are over.

It is a festival of rejoicing for the girls. All of them sing and dance. The songs are of special nature. They also play a kind of game known as ‘Puchi’. They also indulge in other varieties of country-games. This day is also observed as the birthday of Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth.

Therefore, many people worship the Goddess at their homes and keep themselves awake by playing Pasha (Chess), and other indoor games. Significantly it suggests that those who wish to acquire wealth should always be vigilant at night. It is for this reason the owl, a bird that sleeps in the day and comes out only at night.