Hindu Festivals Calendar 2008

It's been said often enough that Hindus celebrate everything. So they do. The birth of gods, death of asuras, victory of the gods, marriage of the gods, the new year, new months, full moons, new moons, harvests, birthdays, initiations, marriages, deaths, anniversaries - you name the event, and it is reason for music, dance, processions, and what have you.

And there is the religious bit lurking behind it all. The reasons for this lie deep, in the origin of Hinduism as an organic religion. Its followers have over time considered anything, animate or inanimate, to be sacred and aspects of divinity.

That is also why even secular events like harvests take on religious overtones, with the patron deity presiding over the festivities. As soon as something happens, there is a kind of thanksgiving to the divine that follows it.

Apart from the universally celebrated festivals like Dussehra, Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi, there are others that are observed in specific communities or geographical areas. Hindu holidays are also confined to particular regions by the importance a certain god enjoys.

Worship of Kartikeya (as during the festival of Skanda Shashti) is predominant in Tamil Nadu, where the god is considered a patron of the region. Onam is a good example of a festival that is celebrated solely by Keralites. Another interesting aspect of Onam is that it is perhaps the only major Hindu festival that celebrates the reign of an asura king, although a benevolent one.

The profusion of legends and the contradictions inherent in them is reflected in festivals too. Travel around the country, and you will hear people tell you a variety of legends involving different gods behind a single festival. Besides, you will also find versions of the same festival being celebrated under different names in different regions.

All this adds that facet of unending novelty and constant change to the strikingly colourful kaleidoscope that is India. You might end up thinking the thought: "The more things change, the more they remain the same", which is something often said about India and its magical agelessness.

With so many holy days and more than 20 major hindu festivals, the calendar should be liberally sprinkled with them. But it isn't so. There is a distinct festival season, which runs from late August through December. This is when there is a fever of celebrations, with a string of important festivals following one another in a rush.

But the major festivals are not the only ones that the people celebrate. Browse through the Hindu almanac, and you will find a mention of holiness or sacredness against almost every day of the year. Most of the lesser festivals are lesser because they have a private rather than public face. There are rituals for phases of the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, days of the week, a person's auspicious star or zodiac sign.

Hindu Calendar 2008


Hindu Festivals Calendar 2008

JAN 13 Sunday Lohri
14 Monday Makar Sankranti
14 Monday Pongal

FEB 07 Thursday Mauni Amavashya
11 Monday Vasant Panchmi

MAR 06 Thursday Mahashivratri
22 Saturday Holi
22 Saturday Hola Mohalla

APRIL 06 Sunday Bikarami Samvat /Gudi Padwa
07 Monday Navratras Begin
14 Monday Ram Navmi
19 Saturday Hanuman Jayanti

JUNE 13 Friday Ganga Dussehra

JULY 16 Wednesday Rath Yatra
18 Friday Guru Purnima

AUG 16 Saturday Rakhi
24 Sunday Sri Krishna Janmashtami

SEP 03 Wednesday Ganesh Chaturathi
12 Friday Onam
29 Monday Navratras Begin

OCT 09Thursday Dussehra
18 Saturday Karva Chauth
26 Sunday Dhan Teras
28 Tuesday Diwali
29 Wednesday Govardhan Puja
30 Thursday Bhaidooj / Bhai Beej

DEC 25 Christmas

STORY OF DIWALI

India is a country that is culturally so rich that it celebrates one or the other festival almost every month. And most of these festivals have their origin in Indian Mythology and there is very interesting stories about them. It is the spiritual and religious richness in India that each festival is related to some or other deity. One of such festivals is the 'festival of lights', Deepawali. Dipavali is the Indian festival that brings a series of festivals with it. One after another it gives a chance to celebrate five festivals together.

Return of Shri Ram Chandra to Ayodhyaa

The most famous legend behind the celebrations of diwali is about the prince of Ayodhya Nagri, Lord Shri Ram Chandra. The story goes like the king of Lanka, Ravan kidnapped Ram Chandra's wife, Sita from the jungle where they were staying as per the instructions of King Dashratha, father of Ram Chandra. Then Ram Chandra attacked Lanka and killed Ravan and released Sita from imprisonment. He returned to Ayodhyaa with his wife Sita and younger brother Lakshamana after fourteen years. Therefore the people of Ayodhyaa decorated their homes as well as the city of Ayodhyaa by lighting tiny diyas all over in order to welcome their beloved prince Shri Ram Chandra and Devi Sita.

Incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi

On the auspicious new moon day, which is 'Amavasyaa' of the Hindi month of Kartik the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi was incarnated. She appeared during the churning of the ocean, which is known as 'Samudra Manthan', by the demons on one side and 'Devataas' on the other side. Therefore the worship of Goddess Lakshmi, the Lakshmi Pujan, on the day of Divali became a tradition.

Lord Krishna Destroyed Demon Narakasur

One famous story behind the celebrations of Diwali is about the demon king Narakasur who was ruler of Pragjyotishpur, a province to the South of Nepal. During a war he defeated Lord Indra and snatched away the magnificent earrings of Mother Goddess Aditi who was not only the ruler of Suraloka but also a relative of Lord Krishna's wife, Satyabhama. Narakasur also imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of Gods and saints in his harem. With the support of Lord Krishna Satyabhama defeated Narakasur and released all the women from his harem and also restored the magnificent earrings of Mother Goddess Aditi.

The Return of the Pandavas

The great Hindu epic 'Mahabharata' has another interesting story related to the 'Kartik Amavasyaa'. The story reads that 'the Pandavas', the five brothers Yudhishthhira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahdeva, were sentenced thirteen years banishment as a result of their defeat against 'the Kauravas', Duryodhana and his ninety nine brothers, at the game of dice. Therefore they spent thirteen years in the jungles and returned to their kingdom on the day of 'Kartik Amavasyaa'. On their return the people of their kingdom welcomed the Pandavas by celebrating the event by lighting the earthen lamps all over in their city.

Coronation of King Vikramaditya

Another legend or story about diwali celebrations relates to one of the greatest Hindu King Vikramaditya. It was the day when he was coroneted and the people celebrated this event by lighting tiny earthen 'diyas'.

Mata Vaishno Devi

Rani Ma Vaishno Devi followed and worshiped Lord Vishnu and considered him as HER ideal.

At about 2 kms from Katra, from where we start our Rani Ma Yatra today, is situated an old village, Hansal, also called (Hansalli). Around 700 years ago, there lived a very poor priest named Pandit Shirdhar, who was very heartily devoted to Rani Ma Vaishnodevi. He used to sing his daily prayers and performed Rani Ma Puja daily. He also used to worship little girls (called Kanya Pujan) regularly. And as faith was, he was childless and had no children of his own.
His daily Puja and Prayers for Rani Ma Vaishnodevi went on for many years. At last seeing his firm-faith and the true devotion, Rani Ma one day came to Panditji, in the form of a little innocent girl.

Pandit Shridhar had been busy in his daily preparation of Kanya Pujan, where, some little girls were present before him. Rani Ma Vaishnodevi manifested herself in those little-girls. As per the Hindu tradition, while Pt. Shirdhar had been washing the feet of these little girls, his sight fell on Rani Ma manifested Herself in the form of a little girl. Panditji was astonished to see HER celestial beauty in vermilion garbs; SHE wore on HER divine body...

Divine Durga Pooja

Katha

At about 2 kms from Katra is situated an old village, Hansal, also called (Hansalli). Around 700 years ago, there lived a very poor priest named Pandit Shirdhar, who was very heartily devoted to Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi. He used to sing his daily prayers and performed Meri Maiya Puja daily. He also used to worship little girls (called Kanya Pujan) regularly. And as faith was, he was childless and had no children of his own.

His daily Puja and Prayers for Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi went on for many years. At last seeing his firm-faith and the true devotion, Meri Maiya one day came to Panditji, in the form of a little innocent girl.

Pandit Shridhar had been busy in his daily preparation of Kanya Pujan, where, some little girls were present before him. Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi manifested herself in those little-girls. As per the Hindu tradition, while Pt. Shirdhar had been washing the feet of these little girls, his sight fell on Meri Maiya manifested Herself in the form of a little girl. Panditji was astonished to see HER celestial beauty in vermilion garbs; SHE wore on HER divine body. He had never seen the little girl before, and SHE did not even seem to belong to his village. Anyway, he worshipped as usual. When the Puja was over, all the girls returned to their homes after getting their offerings from Panditji, except Meri Maiya who remained seated.

Panditji was very much confused and was about to enquire and ask Meri Maiya, that Meri Maiya Herself spoke to him and said " I have an important task for you." Panditji was spell bound and was astonished more and more to listen to such a conversation from that little-girl. Meri Maiya asked Panditji to invite people from neighboring villages for a collective lunch - called Bhandhara. Panditji was very much confused and before he could say anything or ask Meri Maiya about HER, Meri Maiya disappeared. [Read More: Bhumika Temple - About 2 kilometers from Katra on Panthal Road, is situated Bhumika Temple. This is the place, where Pt. Shirdhar had the sight of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi - The Divine Girl. At this very place Pt. Shridhar arranged the Bhandhara.]

Pt. Shirdhar went on thinking hard - who this little girl was?, but was unable to find an answer to it… SHE might be an "Eternal-Girl", or may be Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi Herself and the more he thought the more he got confused, and worried for the "Bhandhara", as it was not possible for him to keep such a huge Bhandhara. He could not think of anything, and in the end, he decided to obey the Divine Girl and went to tell and invite the people in the neighboring villages.

He went on to invite people from one village to another. On his way, he came across a group of saints. He very humbly bowed before them, and with his folded hands, extended an invitation to them also to attend Bhandhara, the next day. Gorakhnath - the leader of the group of saints - told him that he was mistaking in inviting them at home, as even Lord Indra had not been able to satisfy them. Pt. Shridhar got afraid and related them the event and told them of the Divine-Girl. Gorakhnath in his anxiety accepted Panditji's invitation. He also wanted to see, such a girl, who could prepare food for so many peoples and was very curious to find Who this Girl was?

Panditji was fully exhausted when he returned home, and so he went fast asleep immediately on returning home. The next morning, once again, he started worrying about the arrangements for Bhandhara. He just sat in his home, thinking, when people began to gather outside his small hut. Gorakhnath and Bhairavnath, a disciple of Gorakhnath, also arrived along with their disciples.

Panditji was not able to understand what was going on, and to his surprise, all of a sudden Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi - The Divine Girl, entered into the little hut. No one could know - which way SHE had come! How and when did SHE arrive? Meri Maiya told Panditji, "Don't worry, and get up! Everything will be arranged very soon. Tell your guests to come in and sit in the hut." Pt. Shirdhar, immediately got up, and came out to the eagerly awaiting crowd. He invited them to come inside the hut and have food. Gorakhanth then asked - How can we sit in your hut? It does not have a sufficient space for all of us. Panditji folded his hands and said. No problem - please come in .....

All people who were invited began to enter one by one in the hut. All of them were astonished to see, that all of them had entered and sat inside the hut and still a small space was left in the corner of the same hut, which was very small !!

Meri Maiya began to serve food from a small vessel in HER little hands. The foods of their respective choice and likings! Everyone was surprised and Meri Maiya bhakt Pt. Shirdhar was overwhelmed with joy.

Gorakhnath and his senior disciple Bhairavnath were very much amazed and began to consult between themselves - and said SHE seems to be an Eternal Power. Who SHE was? and when Meri Maiya reached Bhairavnath to serve him the foods, he asked, "Shall I get the food of my choice?"

"What do you want?" Meri Maiya asked him politely.

Bhairavnath asked for meat and wine. Meri Maiya very gently told him that he was sitting in the hut of a pious Vaishnav Brahmin, and that only vegetarian food will be served.

Bhairavnath turned a deaf ears to the words, as he wanted to cross-examine the Girl. Nevertheless, Meri Maiya knew his evil desires and as soon as, Bhairavnath could rose up with some seditious thinking and tried to catch hold of Meri Maiya hand, Meri Maiya disappeared.

Bhairavnath was an expert at the science of meditation and was a tantrik. He closed his eyes for a moment and saw with the help of his yogic-powers (tantrik powers) that Meri Maiya had proceeded towards the Trikuta Hills, in a subtle form of "Air". Bhairavnath started chasing Meri Maiya. [Read More : Darshni Darwaza - Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi proceeded through this way, after disappearing from the Bhandhara. One can get a clear view of the hills, from this place. Hence it is called Darshni Darwaza, i.e., a gate to the hill-site one and a half kilometer from Katra.]

During this chase, Meri Maiya felt thirsty, and SHE perched an arrow with HER bow on the land and a stream of water flew out. This place is called Ban Ganga. [Read More : Ban Ganga - Starting form Katra and passing through Darshni Darwaza, Ban Ganga is a streamlet gushing out from the hills over a bridge. The stream is regarded very sacred and many bhakts take a purificatory bath in it before proceeding further. A beautiful idol of the goddess is place in the corridors of Ban Ganga temple.]

Meri Maiya stopped for some time and looked behind at Bhairavnath who was chasing her. [Read More : Charan Paduka - The place where Meri Maiya rested have marks of the impressions of HER feet and were printed on a stone as SHE stopped here. The foot prints are still visible on the stone, preserved here in the temple. Hence, the place is called "Charan Paduka" i.e., the holy foot prints.]

At a considerable distance from Charan paduka, Meri Maiya reached a small charming plateau, called Ardhkwari, where a mendicant was practicing his meditations opposite a small tunnel. SHE gave HER divine sight to the mendicant and told him not to tell any thing about HER visit to any one. Thereafter, Meri Maiya went into the tunnel and took rest for full long nine months, as if the child in the womb of a mother. Meri Maiya spent the nine months in complete devotion. Hence, the tunnel was called "Garabh Joon".

Searching for Meri Maiya, Bhairavnath reached here. He asked the mendicant " Have you seen a girl on this plateau?" The old mendicant replied, " SHE is the supreme power in the whole world, whom you think to be an ordinary girl and that she is Adikumari", i.e. A virgin since the very beginning of this earth. He told Bhairavnath either to run away or to beg pardon from HER. The moment universe came into existence since then SHE has maintained virginity better you go back. Bhairavnath again put a deaf ear to the advice and entered into the tunnel. Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi was aware of it. Meri Maiya with HER divine powers made another opening of the cave by strucking a path at the end of the tunnel with the help of HER trident and moved ahead towards the Holy cave at Darbar (Bhavan). [Read More : Garabh Joon - The tunnel is about 15 feet long that starts horizontally and ends vertically. This place is about 5 kms from Charan Paduka.]

On reaching at the Holy cave at Darbar Meri Maiya with all HER powers looked as Meri Maiya MAHA KALI and in the end Meri Maiya with HER Trishul cut the head of Bhairavnath and threw it with such a force that it went at a distant Mountain. The place at which the head fell is now Bhairav temple. According to the katha the big rock at the entrance of the Holy cave is the remaining body of Bhairavnath.

Bhairavnath then started pleading Meri Maiya, and begged to Meri Maiya to forgive him, for his sins.

Merciful Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi forgave Bhairavnath for all his sins and blessed him and granted him a wish that whenever HER bhakts will come to Bhavan for HER Darshan their yatra will not be completed unless on going back after HER Darshan the bhakts pay homage at Bhairavnath temple.

On the other side, Pt. Shirdhar was very much disappointed with the sudden disappearance of Meri Maiya. He was very much worried about Meri Maiya, and went on for fasting for many days, even leaving food and water.

Kind hearted Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi, again appeared before him, in his dream one night. In his dream, Meri Maiya showed him HER shrine - the Holy cave and asked him to follow HER through the route. Panditji followed Meri Maiya and reached Meri Maiya Pavitra Gufa. Pt. Shirdhar was very happy when he woke up in the morning. All his distortion was removed.

From that very day, Panditji began to search for the Holy cave of Meri Maiya, which he had seen in his dream. He was very much disturbed and wanted to find Meri Maiya Holy cave as soon as possible. He started recounting and following the route as Meri Maiya has directed him, and once while climbing up the hills, Panditji was able discover the Holy cave, the same which he saw in his dream.

Panditji entered inside the Holy Cave .…. And to his astonishment, he got the Holy sight of the abode of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi to the success of his life. He saw, Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi, represented by three goddesses, viz. Meri Maiya Maha Laxmi (the goddess of beauty and wealth), Meri Maiya Mahakali (the vanquisher of evil (right)), Meri Maiya Maha Saraswati (the muse of art and learning (left)). Pandit Shirdhar read hymns and verses in praise of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi, with his hands folded before HER, and offered "Aarti", and bowed and prayed by all means. Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi was very much pleased with him. SHE granted him a boon of four sons, and said that his descendants will continue to worship HER. Since that day, the descendants of Pt. Shirdhar have been worshipping Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi, inside the Holy cave (Pavitra Gufa).

Thereafter, Pt. Shirdhar made known to this world of the Holy Cave and existence of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi in the Pavitra Gufa. This is how, we all came to know of our beloved Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi ..... and had been blessed by HER all through these years .....

General Information about Agra

AGRA
General Information about Agra

• A Brief History
• Agra in the 11th Century
• Agra Under Delhi Sultans
• Agra the Grand Mughals
• Contemporary account soft the Metropolis of Agra

• 
  A BRIEF HISTORY
  The city of Agra, like Delhi, stands on the bank of the river Jamuna between Mathura and Surajpur. The region originally formed part of the Surasena Empire with Mathura as its capital. Agra has two histories: one of the ancient city on the left, bank of the river Jamuna, going back so far as to be lost in the legends of Krishna and the heros of the Mahabharata; where it is named as Agraban. This city in those days was considered to be the sister of Mathura which was more prominent than Agraban. The other history is of the modern city, founded by Akbar in AD.1558,on the right bank of the river. Muhammadans still retain its name as Akbarabad, which is intimately associated with the romance of the Great Moguls and known throughout the world as the city of the Taj. It is said that this city of Taj was established in 1475 by Badal Singh. Sikandar Lodhi made this place his capital when the Lodhi ruled north India.
  
  AGRA IN THE 11TH CENTURY
  The first definite mention of Agra and its fort has been made by Khwaja Masud bid s’ad bin Salman in his Diwan which consists of poems written in praise of the Ghaznavide sovereigns eg Masud, Ibrahim and Bahram Shah. According to the poet Mahmud Shah the governor of Hind (presumably parts of the Punjab and the North-west region) invaded the Fort of Agra in 1080-81. Jaipal, the Amir of Agra, gave tough fight but being disappointed, offered to submit. It may be surmised that the strong fort, which was defended against Mahmud Shah, was not an isolated construction undoubtedly it had a long background. Definite records show that there was a brick fort in existence before Akbar. Akbar found it in ruins and he rebuilt it with finished red sandstone, as it presently stands. All the three historions of Akbar viz Skeikh Abul Fazal, Mulla Abdul Qadar Badaoni and Khawaja Nizamuddin agree as to the reconstruction of the old fort by Akbar. His son Jehangir also concurred and has mentioned in his memoirs, this old fort on the bank of the Jamuna which was destroyed by his father and a new one built of red sandstone in its place.
  
  AGRA UNDER THE DELHI SULTANS
  The second battle of Tarain(1192) proved to be decisive as it overthrew the mighty Chauhans and firmly established the Turks in the heart of the country. Agra has not specifically been mentioned during the reign of the Mamluka, the so called slave dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1290) nor of the Khaljis (1290-1320) or even of the Tughlaqus (1320-1411) It was in the reign of Syed Allauddin (1445-51) that Agra is specifically mentioned as a dependency of Biana. Later on Agra was seized by Sikandar Lodi. But the story narrated by Niamatullah, the chronicler of the Lodhi dynasty, that Sikandar founded the city and gave it the name of Agra is not acceptable as Agra has been mentioned in earlier records also.
  
  Agra under Sikandar Lodhi was a great centre of cultural activities and was considered to be the Shiraz of India. Sikandar Lodi died here in the fort on Sunday : 14th December 1517. His son and successor; Ibrahim Lodi held it for 9 years.
  
  AGRA AND THE GRAND MUGHALS
  Ibrahim Lodhi, the Last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, was killed and the Lodi Empire was overthrown in the first battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur founded a dynastyof his own which is known as the Mughal dynasty.
  
  Immediately after battle of Panipat he despatched his eldest son Humayun to Agra to seize the treasury. Treasures were seized by the Mughals which included some rare diamonds. The gem which was later named the Koh-i-Noor also formed part of the booty. It was presented to Humayun by Bikramjit family (Raja of Gwalior) Babur mentions that on May 10, 1526 he entered Agra and "dismounted at the Manzil of Sultan Ibrahim." He constructed a big baoli inside the fort. It was here in 1530 that Babur breathed his last and Humayun was crownd. For all practical purposes Agra was the seat of the Mughal government. Later on Afghan under Sher Shah defeated Humayun at the battle of Chausa and Agra came under the rule of Baramzid (Brahmajit Gaur) on behalf of Sher Shah. Agra was thus made the commanding station whence began a series of roads and cross roads leading to the remotest parts of the Sur Empire.
  
  After the death of Islam Shah the son and successor of Sher Shah in 1515 Hemu became the master of the area in the vicinity. It was not, however until the second battle of Panipat in 1556 that he was defeatd and killed and Agra was occupied by Iskandar Khan on behalf of Akbar. Akbar made Agra as the headquerters of his state.It was during Akbar’s period that Agra became the center of Art,Culture,Commerce and learning. After the death of Akbar Agra was ruled by Jehangir and Shanjehan. Shah Jehan's long reign (1628-58) of thirty years was marked by comparatively settled condition.The Emperor had a passion for architecture and it was during his rule that the world famous monumental masterpieces like the Taj Mahal and the Moti Masjid were constructed.
  Auranjzeb came to the throne is 1658. He murdered his brothers and nephews in cold blood and imprisoned his father in the fort of Agra. He trnasferred his capital to Delhi and allowed Agra to Sink into backgrounds after about a century of glamorous years.
  
  CONTEMPORARY ACCONTS OF THE METROPOLIS OF AGRA
  Agra was one of the twelve Subas (provinces) of the Mughal empire. It comprised thirteen Sarkars (divisions) including Agra and its adjoining regions Gwalior, Kalpi, Kannauj, Koil (Modern Aligarh), Narnaul and Alwar. It extended from Ghatampur near Allahabad in the east to Palwal in the west with the Ganges on the North and Chanderi to the South. It was thus one of the largest Subas of the Empire. Abul Fazl, Akbar's court historian, gives a picture of Agra of Akbar's day: "Agra is a large city and possesses a healthy Climate. The river Jamuna flows through it for five kos and on either bank are delightful villas and pleasant stretches of meadow.It is filled with people from all countries and is the emporium of the traffic of the world. His majesty has built a fort of red stone, and like of which travellers have never recorded. It contains more than five hundred buildings of masonry after the beautiful designs of Bengal and architectural models ... his present majesty embellished it and thus a matchless city has arisen." Badaoni and Nizamuddin, two other contemporary historians of the time of Akbar, confirm the grandeur of the city and its lofty fort.
  

About Dassera The festival of Dassera, also known as Vijayadashmi, is one of the fascinating festivals of India and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm for ten continuous days. The first nine nights are spent in the worship of goddess Durga and hence these nights are known as "Navaratri". This festival falls in the month of Ashwin (September / October). The tenth day of the Dassera day is in honour of Durga Devi. The tribal communities also worship Durga as the presiding deity of Navaratri. The farmers invoke her blessings because this festival coincides with the period of rest and leisure after their strenuous work in the fields. The farmers with her blessings wait with tremendous hopes for a bountiful harvest. The story of the creation of this goddess is also very interesting. The gods in heaven decided to create an all-powerful being to kill the demon king Mahishasur who was ready to attack them. At that very moment a stream of lightning dazzled forth from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and it turned into a beautiful, magnificent woman with ten hands. Then all the gods furnished her with their special weapons. Those weapons and armour are very artistically carved in the ancient sculptures of this goddess in Java. The image of Durga, the Eternal Mother destroying the demon, Mahishasur on Chamundi Hills near Mysore is symbolic of the final confrontation of the spiritual urge of man with his baser passions. This goddess Durga as Lord Shiva's Consort represents two forms of female energy - one mild and protective and the other fierce and destructive. Dassera festival is also known as Durgotsav and during the ten days, the many splendoured goddess Durga is worshipped in one of her many forms differently in different regions. With religious rituals and chantings of mantras followed by "KATHA" or story-telling told by Pandits who by reading passages from religious texts awaken religious fervour in the minds of the listeners. In Bengal and the neighbouring states of Assam and Orissa Durga devi is worshipped by name of Kali as a symbol of Shakti before whom animal sacrifices were made. Her dance of conquest is famous in our ancient texts. As per the orthodox Hindu conceptions, the personality of one deity cannot be entirely separated from that of another. As such in some regions all the three principal goddesses - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped during this festival, each for 3 days of the Navaratri. As per our great epic Mahabharat, Pandavas after wandering in the forest for 12 years, hung their weapons on a Shami tree before entering the court of king Virat to spend the last one year in disguise. After the completion of that year on Vijayadashmi the day of Dassera they brought down the weapons from the Shami tree and declared their true identity. Since that day the exchange of Shami leaves on Dassera day became symbols of good, will and victory. The founder of the Hindu Swarajya Chatrapati Shivaji before any military expedition always invoked the blessings of Durga in the form of his goddess Bhawani. The Sikh guru Gobind Singh introduced the worship of Durga into his cult of the sword. This festival has immense mythological significance. As per Ramayan, Ram did "chandi-puja and invoked the blessings of Durga to kill Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka who had abducted Seeta and had charmed life. Durga divulged the secret to Ram how he could kill Ravana. Then after vanquishing him, Ram with Seeta and Laxman returned victorious to his kingdom of Ayodhya on Dassera day. Therefore, the festival of Durgotsava and Dassera is celebrated more in honour of Prabhu Ramchandra than Durgadevi in many regions of India and recitations from Ramayan and dances and dramas depicting the exploits of Ram assume great importance. These Ramlila shows are very popular in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and to an extent in Maharashtra and effigies of king Ravana, his brother, Kumbhakarna and his son, Meghnath are burnt. During the pre-British period, the powerful Hindu rulers used to celebrate Dassera in right royal fashion and start military expeditions on this Dassera day against their enemies or recalcitrant vassals. With the arrival of the British, Hindu rulers could not indulge in military activities yet Dassera was celebrated with the old pomp and pageant of full military parades of all arms in the capitals of Hindu states when the Rajas and Maharajas personally took the salute, Trumpets blared militant notes, war drums sounded their loudest and soldiers looked martial. The procession of Dassera taken out in Mysore is always remembered for its grandeur. With independence and the disappearance of princely states these ancient pageants are dying out and Dassera is becoming more democratic than regal. Dassera day is considered a most auspicious day. It is a time-honoured belief that if any new venture is started on this day, it is bound to be successful. Hence, all the undertakings be it laying-in of foundation of a new building, opening of a new commercial establishment or even initiating a child into the world of learning- are started on this day. Also on this day implements of agriculture, manufacturer's machines, the intellectuals pens, the household articles, the children's school books are placed before the idol of Durga and worshipped. The revolutionaries who followed the "CULT OF THE BOMB" to free their motherland from the slavery of the British imperialism looked up to Durgadevi for success in their mission. Even to-day in free India, Durga's blessings are invoked and Dassera is celebrated all over the country. These celebrations involve inter-Asia visits to temples like Meenakshi at Madras, Kamakshi at Conjivaram, Annapurna at Benares, Mumbadevi and Mahalaxmi at Mumbai and signify the triumph of good, of piety and devotion over all the forces of evil.		Dassera Images People Playing Dandiya People Playing Dandiya Dassera Gifts Assorted Choukdi Pooja Thaali View all Dassera Gifts

Digging into the history of the 7-day week

Our seven day week has been used for millennia by the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Chinese calendars, yet its origins are most uncertain.

What Is the Origin of the 7-Day Week?
What Do the Names of the Days of the Week Mean?
What is the System behind the Planetary Day Names?
Has the 7-Day Week Cycle Ever Been Interrupted?
What Is the First Day of the Week?
What Is the Week Number?
How can I calculate the week number?
Do Weeks of Different Lengths Exist?
What day was a certain date?

What Is the Origin of the 7-Day Week?

Digging into the history of the 7-day week is a very complicated matter. Authorities have very different opinions about the history of the week, and they frequently present their speculations as if they were indisputable facts. The only thing we seem to know for certain about the origin of the 7-day week is that we know nothing for certain.

The common explanation is that the seven-day week was established as imperial calendar in the late Roman empire and furthered by the Christian church for historical reasons. The British Empire used the seven-day week and spread it worldwide. Today the seven-day week is enforced by global business and media schedules, especially television and banking.The first pages of the Bible explain how God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. This seventh day became the Jewish day of rest, the sabbath, Saturday.Extra-biblical locations sometimes mentioned as the birthplace of the 7-day week include: Babylon, Persia, and several others. The week was known in Rome before the advent of Christianity.

There are practical geometrical theories as well. For example, if you wrap a rubber band around 7 soda cans (or any other convenient circular objects). You get a perfect hexagon with the 7th can in the middle. It is the only stable configuration of wrapping more than 3 circular objects. Four, 5, and 6 objects will slip from one configuration to another. Ancients wrapping tent poles, small logs for firewood, or other ciruclar objects might have come upon this number and attach a mystical significance to it.

One viable theory correlates the seven day week to the seven (astrological) "planets" known to the ancients: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The number seven does not seem an obvious choice to match lunar or solar periods, however. A solar year could be more evenly divided into weeks of 5 days, and the moon phases five-day and six-day weeks make a better short term fit (6 times 5 is 30) to the lunar (synodic) month (of about 29.53 days) than the current week (4 times 7 is 28). The seven-day week may have been chosen because its length approximates one moon phase (one quarter = 29.53 / 4 = 7.3825).

What Do the Names of the Days of the Week Mean?

An answer to this question is necessarily closely linked to the language in question. Whereas most languages use the same names for the months (with a few Slavonic languages as notable exceptions), there is great variety in names that various languages use for the days of the week. A few examples will be given here.

Except for the sabbath, Jews simply number their week days.

A related method is partially used in Portuguese and Russian:

English	Portuguese	Russian	Meaning of Russian name
Monday	segunda-feira	ponedelnik	After "do-nothing"
Tuesday	terça-feira	vtornik	Second
Wednesday	quarta-feira	sreda	Middle
Thursday	quinta-feira	chetverg	Fourth
Friday	sexta-feira	pyatnitsa	Fifth
Saturday	sabado	subbota	Sabbath
Sunday	domingo	voskresenye	Resurrection

Most Latin-based languages connect each day of the week with one of the seven "planets" of the ancient times: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. French, for example, uses:

English	French	"Planet"
Monday	lundi	Moon
Tuesday	mardi	Mars
Wednesday	mercredi	Mercury
Thursday	jeudi	Jupiter
Friday	vendredi	Venus
Saturday	samedi	Saturn
Sunday	dimanche	(Sun)

The link with the sun has been broken in French, but Sunday was called dies solis (day of the sun) in Latin.
It is interesting to note that also some Asiatic languages (for example, Hindi, Japanese, and Korean) have a similar relationship between the week days and the planets.English has retained the original planets in the names for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. For the four other days, however, the names of Anglo-Saxon or Nordic gods have replaced the Roman gods that gave name to the planets. Thus, Tuesday is named after Tiw, Wednesday is named after Woden, Thursday is named after Thor, and Friday is named after Freya.

See additional connotations of the days of the week from a sampling of cultures and time periods.

What is the System behind the Planetary Day Names?

As we saw in the previous section, the planets have given the week days their names following this order:

Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Sun

Why this particular order?

One theory goes as follows: If you order the "planets" according to either their presumed distance from Earth (assuming the Earth to be the center of the universe) or their period of revolution around the Earth, you arrive at this order: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

Now, assign (in reverse order) these planets to the hours of the day:

1=Saturn, 2=Jupiter, 3=Mars, 4=Sun, 5=Venus, 6=Mercury, 7=Moon, 8=Saturn, 9=Jupiter, etc., 23=Jupiter, 24=Mars

Then next day will then continue where the old day left off:

1=Sun, 2=Venus, etc., 23=Venus, 24=Mercury

And the next day will go

1=Moon, 2=Saturn, etc.

If you look at the planet assigned to the first hour of each day, you will note that the planets come in this order:

Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus

This is exactly the order of the associated week days.

Coincidence? Maybe.

Has the 7-Day Week Cycle Ever Been Interrupted?

There is no record of the 7-day week cycle ever having been broken. Calendar changes and reform have never interrupted the 7-day cycles. It very likely that the week cycles have run uninterrupted at least since the days of Moses (c. 1400 B.C.E.), possibly even longer.

Some sources claim that the ancient Jews used a calendar in which an extra Sabbath was occasionally introduced. But this is probably not true.

Which Day is the Day of Rest?

For the Jews, the Sabbath (Saturday) is the day of rest and worship. On this day God rested after creating the world.

Most Christians have made Sunday their day of rest and worship, because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.

Muslims use Friday as their day of rest and worship. The Qur'an calls Friday a holy day, the "king of days."

What Is the First Day of the Week?

The Bible clearly makes the Sabbath the last day of the week, but does not share how that corresponds to our 7 day week. Yet through extra-biblical sources it is possible to determine that the Sabbath at the time of Christ corresponds to our current 'Saturday.' Therefore it is common Jewish and Christian practice to regard Sunday as the first day of the week (as is also evident from the Portuguese names for the week days). However, the fact that, for example, Russian uses the name "second" for Tuesday, indicates that some nations regard Monday as the first day.

In international standard ISO-8601 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decreed that Monday shall be the first day of the week.

What Is the Week Number?

International standard ISO-8601 assigns a number to each week of the year. A week that lies partly in one year and partly in another is assigned a number in the year in which most of its days lie. This means that

Week 1 of any year is the week that contains 4 January,
or equivalently
Week 1 of any year is the week that contains the first Thursday in January.

Most years have 52 weeks, but years that start on a Thursday and leap years that start on a Wednesday have 53 weeks.

How can I calculate the week number?

If you know the date, how do you calculate the corresponding week number (as defined in ISO-8601)?

1. Using the formulas in the section on the Christian calendar, calculate the Julian Day Number, J.

2. Perform the following calculations (in which the divisions are integer divisions in which the remainder is discarded):

d4 = (J+31741 - (J mod 7)) mod 146097 mod 36524 mod 1461
L = d4/1460
d1 = ((d4-L) mod 365) + L
WeekNumber = d1/7+1

Do Weeks of Different Lengths Exist?

If you define a "week" as a 7-day period, obviously the answer is no. But if you define a "week" as a named interval that is greater than a day and smaller than a month, the answer is yes.

The ancient Egyptians used a 10-day "week", as did the French Revolutionary calendar (see French calendar).

The Maya calendar uses a 13 and a 20-day "week" (see Mayan calendar).

The Soviet Union used both a 5-day and a 6-day week. In 1929-30 the USSR gradually introduced a 5-day week. Every worker had one day off every week, but there was no fixed day of rest. On 1 September 1931 this was replaced by a 6-day week with a fixed day of rest, falling on the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th, and 30th day of each month (1 March was used instead of the 30th day of February, and the last day of months with 31 days was considered an extra working day outside the normal 6-day week cycle). A return to the normal 7-day week was decreed on 26 June 1940.

Lithuanians used week of nine days before adopting Cristianity.

What day was a certain date?

To calculate the day on which a particular date falls, the following algorithm may be used (the divisions are integer divisions, in which remainders are discarded). In July 4, 1950, date=4, month=7, year=1950. Note that "mod" means the remainder when doing integer division, e.g., 20 mod 7 = 6. That is, 20 divided by 7 is 2 and 6/7th (where xsi is the remainder).

	a = [(14 - month) / 12]
	y = year - a
	m = month + 12 a - 2
For Julian calendar:
	day = (5 + date + y + y/4 + [31 m / 12]) mod 7
For Gregorian calendar:
	day = (date + y + y/4 - [y / 100] + [y / 400] + [31 m/ 12]) mod 7

Where day 0 is Sunday, day 1 is Monday, etc.

The week of seven days was adopted in Rome somewhere about 400 AD, and spread into Europe, but had been recognized as a period of time long before that in the east. It was probably chosen to give one day each to each of the seven planets known in antiquity. In the southern countries of Europe, the days of the week were named after the gods of the Greeks and Romans. In the English language, as well as in the languages of some of the countries of northern Europe, the gods of the north have given their names to the days.

The Ashanti and some other peoples of West Africa gave a child a special name according to the day of the week on which he was born. The habit was brought to the American South and Caribbean through slavery, where names such as Quashee (Sunday), Cudjo (Monday) and Cufee (Friday) were common.

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child that works hard on the Sabbath Day,
is blithe and bonny, good and gay

Monday
Monday is the second day of the week, day of moon goddess, Selene, Luna and Mani.
Derived from Lunae Dies, day of the moon, the name reflects the ancient observance of feast days dedicated to moon goddess or planet.

The metal silver, dedicated to the moon, is associated with Monday.

Tuesday
Tuesday is the third day of the week. In the Roman calendar the corresponding day was dies Martis, the day of Mars, associated with Ares. Tiw's day is derived from Tyr or Tir, the god of honorable war, the wrestler and the son of Odin and, or Woden, the Norse god of war and Frigga, the earth mother. His emblem is the sword, and in olden days the people paid him great homage. Tuesday was named in his honor.

The metal iron, dedicated to Mars and interpreted as his spear and shield, is an attribute of Tuesday

Wednesday
Wednesday, the fourth day of the week, corresponds to the Roman Dies Mercurii. The name derives from the Scandinavian Woden (Odin), chief god of Norse mythology, who was often called the All Father.
Quicksilver, a liquid mercury that contains amounts of the platinum group metals, has been interpreted as the caduceus of the Greek Hermes (Mercury in Roman myth), and is therefore an attribute of Wednesday

Thursday
Thursday is the fifth day of the week. It derives its name from the Middle English Thoresday, or Thursdaye, corresponding to the Roman dies Jovis.

Thor, the god of strength and thunder, defender and help in war, son of Odin, is the counterpart of Jupiter or Jove. Thor is one of the twelve great gods of northern mythology. He is the only god who cannot cross from earth to heaven upon the rainbow, for he is so heavy and powerful that the gods fear it will break under his weight. It was said that whenever Thor threw his hammer, the noise of thunder is heard through the heavens. Thursday was sacred to Thor.

The metal tin is associated with the thunderbolt of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek myth) and is an attribute of Thursday.

I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever!
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Friday

Friday is the sixth day of the week. The name is derived from the Germanic Frigga the name of the Norse god Odin's wife. Frigga is considered to be the mother of all, and the goddess who presides over marriage. The name means loving or beloved.

The corresponding Latin name is Dies Veneris, a day dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love.

The metal copper, dedicated to Venus, is associated with Friday.

Saturday
Saturday is the seventh day of the week, corresponding to the Roman dies Saturni, or day of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

Saturday is also represented by Loki, the Norse god of tricks and chaos.

The metal lead is associated with the scythe of Saturn, and is therefore an attribute of Saturday.

Sunday
Sunday is the first day of the week.

From prehistoric times to the close of the fifth century of the Christian era, the worship of the sun was dominant.

Sunday celebrates the sun god, Ra, Helios, Apollo, Ogmios, Mithrias, the sun goddess, Phoebe.

The metal gold, as dedicated in the symbols of alchemy, is associated with the sun god and Sunday.

In the year 321, Constantine the Great ruled that the first day of the week, 'the venerable day of the sun', should be a day of rest. The sun's old association with the first day is responsible for the fact that the Lord's Day of Christianity bears the pagan name of Sunday.

The origins of the names of the days

The names of the days are in some cases derived from Teutonic deities or, such as in Romance languages, from Roman deities. The early Romans, around the first century, used Saturday as the first day of the week. As the worshipping of the Sun increased, the Sun's day (Sunday) advanced from position of the second day to the first day of the week (and saturday became the seventh day).

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