Kartika month: In Odisha it is believed to be a month for self-cleansing
Kartika month overlaps October and November as per English Calendar. In Odisha, this month is considered to be the holiest of all months. It is known to be the best month of the year to become one with the Supreme Being.
People of all ages across Odisha visit Puri for Shree Jagannath darshan. Most of them (specifically widows) observe vrat during the month.
As per puranas Kartika month has a lot of significance.
1. Kartika month comes under the Dakshinayana period (when the Sun travels from North to South i.e from Cancer to Capricorn), which is considered the most auspicious time for prayers.
2. According to Vedas, Lord Vishnu goes to sleep on Ashadha Ekadashi and wakes up on Kartika Shukla Ekadasi.
3. It is believed that during Kartika month, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu come to visit Earth.
4. Lord Shiva killed the demon Tripurasura in the month of Kartika and saved the world.
5. In this month, river Ganga merges/flows into all other rivers thus making them equally holy.
6. As per scientific reason, in the month of Kartika, water gets enriched with more magnetic power from the Earth before sunrise, which might be the reason for taking the Kartika Snana before sunrise during this month.
During the entire month, most of the devotees take vegetarian food. The preparation of this special vrat food is known as ‘Habisa’. In the Habisa food, a certain number of vegetables are prohibited from being used. On every Monday in this month, devotees worship Lord Shiva and takes food once in the afternoon.
The last five days of the Kartika month are considered highly auspicious and are known as ‘Panchuka’. Panchuka begins with Bada Ekadashi or Tulsi Vivaha and ends on Kartika Purnima. This year the Panchuka starts from today, 25th Nov 2020.
During these five days, in Puri temple, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra along with Sudarshan are dressed in different Beshas (attires) and thousands of devotees visit Puri to take the holy darshan. Lord Jagannath is adorned in the form of Laxminarayan on the first day, followed by Bankachuda Bhesa, Tribikrama Bhesa and Laxminrusingha Bhesa. The last day of Panchuka is very crucial as the Lord gives darshan to the devotees in Rajarajeswar Bhesa.
This year the Panchuka starts from today, 25th Nov 2020.
During this Panchuka, ladies after taking bath early in the morning puts rangoli (muruja jhoti chita) near the holy Tulsi Plant for well being of the family. Only 5 colours are used for the rangoli. White powder is obtained by grinding of stones, green powder from dry leaves, black from burnt coconut shells, yellow from the petals of marigold flowers or turmeric and red from red clay or bricks.
Kartik Purnima, the full moon day is considered as the most auspicious day. It is the birthday of Matsya, god Vishnu’s fish-incarnation (avatar). It is also the birthday of Vrinda, the personification of the Tulsi plant and of Kartikeya, the god of war and son of Shiva.
This year Kartik Purnima falls on 30th Nov 2020.
Kartika Purnami day is the day when Sadhabas or merchants of Odisha used to sail to far off lands with goods to do business. This reminds us of the maritime glory of Odisha state. In olden days the Odisha sea traders used to sail off to distant islands like Java, Sumatra, Ceylon etc. for trade by boats (Boita).
As per tradition, devotees equipped their handmade boats with ritual items like camphor, ghee lamps, betel leafs, flowers and sent them into the sea along with their prayers. This is called ‘Boita Bandana’.
In Varanasi on this day, the ghats come alive with thousands of diyas (brightly- it earthern lamps), this unique festival celebrated in Varanasi is called Dev Deepavali. The Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with the Jain light festival and Guru Nanak Jayanti.
During this prevailing time, all of us can pray, staying at home, to the Almighty seeking strength and wellbeing. Let’s pray that He grants all of us the strength, to power through our days and health, to last a lifetime.
