Sharad Poornima

First of all, Sorry for late. I am late for uploading this article due to personal reasons. But anyway, this is for all of you.

Sharad Poornima is that Divine night when Radha Krishn revealed the supreme Bliss of maharas to uncountable Gopis in Vrindaban about 5,000 years ago. It is the full moon night which falls in October. This day is very precious in our lives for an additional reason as well: our beloved Shree Maharajji appeared on that night in 1922 in Mangarh, India. Whereas the devotees in Mangarh participate in a procession (yatra) with Shree Maharajji seated on an elegantly decorated chariot (rath), here at Barsana Dham we have a procession with Shree Radha Rani seated on a flower adorned chariot.

By the time the autumn full moon is ready to rise on the dark horizon, Dussera festivals are over and the eyes of merrymakers are turned towards shops full of fireworks and sweets for Diwali. Sharad Purnima occurs exactly a fortnight before Diwali. This is a harvest festival where Laxmi, the goddess of prosperity, visits all homes to bring fortune and good luck to all people, young and old.

Kojagiri, as this special night is called, is celebrated with ice-cold, saffron-flavoured sweet milk, shared in the cool moonlight. The full moon night is called Navanna Purnima or the moonlit night of new food. The newly harvested rice is offered to the gods and lamp; are lit before the full moon.

Maharishi Ved Vyasji in ‘Shrimad Bhagwat ‘ in the 10th episode has described the night of ‘Sharad poornima’ as the night of the Raasotsav(raas celebrations)of the incarnation of Lord Krishna on the earth, because unlike the moon showering the cool nectar Lord Krishna too, showered ‘Bhakti ras ‘ on the earth.thousands of fortunate Gopis enthrilled themselves by enjoying the bhakti ras in the accompaniment of the Yogehwar Lord Krishna ,the memory alone of this event fills the hearts of the devotees with love for the lord.

About Sharad Purnima

On this night, Lord Krishna invited his faithful devotees, the Gopis of Vrundavan, to play the Maha Raas (traditional folk-dance) with him. They had earned his grace by overlooking society’s disdain on them (`loklaaj’), to offer him unalloyed devotion. When they left their homes in Vraj and arrived in Vrundavan, Shri Krishna welcomed them. Yet to further test their love for him, he averred: ‘Women of character such as you, should not leave home to meet another man in the middle of the night!’ These words seared the Gopis’ hearts. In extreme grief, they uttered: ‘Our feet will not budge the slightest from your lotus-feet. So how can we return to Vraj?’ Pleased with such immutable love for him, Shri Krishna initiated the Maha Raas, by assuming as many forms as there were Gopis. At this point, they beamed with pride that, ‘Nobody’s devotion can excel ours, by which the Lord favored us.’ Instead of accepting the Maha Raas as the Lord’s grace, ego marred their devotion. Therefore he instantly vanished from the Raas mandal! Now filled with remorse, the Gopis repented.

Recalling Shri Krishna’s divine episodes - ‘lila’, they lamented their pangs of separation, and sang kirtans known as ‘viraha geet’: ‘Jayati te-dhikam janmanaa vrajaha. (Shrimad Bhagvat 10/31/1) Describing the ‘lila’ in the Bhagvat (10/30/25), Shukdevji narrates to king Parikshit: ‘O Parikshit! Of all nights, that night of Sharad Punam became the most resplendent. With the Gopis, Shri Krishna roamed the banks of the Yamuna, as if imprisoning everyone in his lila!’

On this auspicious day Kshir or Khir (milk thickened with rice and mixed with sugar, candy, etc.) is especially prepared in the temples and homes, and offered to Hari amidst ringing of the balls and chanting of the hymns, then it is given in the morning as prasad to the devotees. The recipe is kept in the moonshine all the night so that it may absorb the amrit falling from the moon. Such khir is considered to possess many qualities. At night Moon-god is also worshipped and offered naivedya.

The moon is very close to the earth on this day and its bright rays has its own curative properties,the rays fall on the food or drinks that are consumed,and help in curing the disorder of Pitt avoids many other trivial diseases and makes the body healthy.

Vijaydashmi

One derivation of the word Dasera is from dashhara. 'Dash' means ten and 'hara' means defeated. Nine days before Dasera, in the nine days of Navaratri, all the ten directions are saturated with the female deity's (devi's-Shakti) energy. 'Shakti' has control over creation in all the ten directions (dikbhav), attendants (gan), etc. That is why this day is known as Dashhara, Dasera, Vijayadashami, etc. This is one amongst the three and a half auspicious moments (muhurts) of the year. This falls on the tenth day (dashami) of the bright fortnight of Ashvin. The immersion of the Navratri (female deity) is done on the ninth day (navami) or the tenth day. Four rituals namely crossing the territory (Simollanghan), worship of the Shami tree (Shamipujan), worship of the deity Aparajita (Aparajitapujan) and worship of instruments (Shastrapuja) should be performed on this day.

Rituals to be performed on Vijayadashmi

1. Crossing the territory (Simollanghan)

In this ritual the territory of a village is crossed in the north-east direction in the third part ('prahar') of the day, that is in the afternoon. And one should stop at a Shami or Apta tree.

2. Worship of the Shami tree (Shamipujan)

The Shami tree is worshipped with the recitation of the following prayer.

Shami Shamayate papam shami lokhitkantaka l

Dharinyarjunbananam Ramasya priyavadini ll

Karishmanyatraya yathakal such mya l

Tatra nirvighanktri twam bhav Sree Rampujite ll

Translation: The Shami tree cleanses sins. Its thorns are reddish in colour. It is Lord Rama's favourite tree and in such a tree Pandavas hid their arms. O Shami, Lord Rama has worshipped you. I now embark upon my journey to victory. May you make it pleasant and free from obstacles.

The Apta tree is worshipped with the following mantra:

Ashmantak Mahavruksha Mahadoshnivaran l

Istana darshanm dehi kuru shtruvinashnam ll

Translation: O great Apta (also known as Ashmantak) tree, you are the one who overcomes great defects. Unite me with my friends and destroy my foes.

Then rice, a betelnut and a gold coin (copper coin as a variant) are placed near the roots of that tree. After circumambulating the tree, some mud from its base and some of its leaves are brought home. Leaves of the Apta are offered as 'gold' to God and friends. Conventionally, gold should be gifted by the young to the old. In Maharashtra, there is a custom of gifting gold to family members and friends on Dasera. This has a historical significance too. After a military expedition, the brave Marathas would bring home the plundered booty from the enemy's territory. These victorious warriors were welcomed by their wives or sisters with Arti (a prayer sung with the waving of a lamp). In return the warriors would give some gold ornaments from their plunder. The warriors then placed their loot before the deities in the temple of the house and offered obeisance to God and elders seeking their blessings. Nowadays, this is commemorated by distributing leaves of the Apta tree, symbolizing gold.

3. Worship of the deity Aparajita (Aparajitapujan)

During the worship of the Shami tree, eight petals (Ashtadal) are drawn on the ground and an idol of the deity Aparajita is placed on it and worshipped by chanting the following mantra:

Haren tu vichitren bhaswatkankamekhala l

Aparajita bhadrarta karotu vijayam mam ll

Translation: O deity Aparajita, You who adorn a necklace, a glittering golden girdle and who blesses devotees earnestly, bestow victory upon me.

In some places, this worship is also performed before leaving for the ritual of crossing the territory.

4 . Worship of instruments (Shastrapuja)

On this day soldiers and the feudal princes clean their weapons, arrange them in a row and worship them. Farmers and artisans too worship their respective implements or instruments. Some also perform this ritual on the ninth day of Navaratri.

The royal way of celebration : Since Dasera is a festival of triumph, on this day special rituals have been recommended for nobles and kings. This is a festival signifying victory and valour. Before Arjun went into hiding (adnyatvas), he placed all his weapons in the hollow of the Shami tree. But on this day when the Kourav army was herding away King Virat's cattle, Arjun pulled out his weapons from the Shami tree and confronted the army and defeated them. It is believed that Lord Ramachandra too slayed Ravana and emerged victorious on this day. To signify these events, this day has been named Vijayadashmi. Actually this festival was celebrated even in ancient times. At that time it was a festival of the peasants. A peasant would celebrate it after bringing home his first monsoon harvest. During the Navaratri, on the day of installation of the pot (ghatasthapana) nine types of food grains are germinated in the altar (sthandil). On the day of Dasera the sprouted grains are pulled out and offered to the deities. In several places the main door of the house is decorated with sheafs of rice grains. This custom also depicts that it is a festival of the peasants. With the passage of time this festival became religious in nature and in the historical ages, it became a political one. (Ref: Bhartiya Sanskritikosh, Volume 4, Page no.319,320)

- with the help of Hindu-Jagriti