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• Kuber Chalise
  

Saraswati maya dristwa Vina Pustak Dharani,
Hansa Wahan Samyukta Vidya-danam Karo tu me,

“I saw the Mother Goddess- Saraswati, who rides on swan, has four arms; representing Manas- the mind, Buddhi- the intellect, Chitta- consciousness and Ahankara- the ego. She holds Vina – her favourate musical instrument, a book and a rosary. She is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
Oh Mother! Please bestow me the knowledge and wisdom.”

According to the Lunar calendar, Magh sukla panchami, the fifth day of the bright half of Magh, is celebrated as the Saraswati Puja by all the Hindus the world over.

Who is Goddess Sawarawati?

Purush or Parabrahma the eternal male factor and Prakriti – the universal feminine energy has created this Universe- the Brahmanda. To help the male benevolent factor in the process of creation, preservation and destruction – the Prakriti incarnated herself in three forms –Mahasaraswati, Mahalaxmi and Mahakali. Among them the first form Mahasaraswati, the omnipresence and omnipotence, is the symbol of creation, knowledge, music and fine- arts. She is the supreme reality and symbolises supreme knowledge. Thus Saraswati is the Goddess of learning, knowledge, wisdom the consciousness.

The day marks the change in season also; the spring – Basant starts from this day. From this day onwards the days are longer. All the creatures suffering from the cold in winter slowly crawl outside in the warmth of spring sun. The winter stricken trees sprout new leaves and the nature is once again lively.

According to the Bhabisya Purana - an ancient Hindu scripture, in ancient times this day was also celebrated as Basanta-Utsav by worshipping Kamadev and his consort Rati- the divine couple created by Brahma – the creator, to inspire all the living beings for creation. But once Kamdev tried to seduce Lord Shiva, the Lord of all Lords and the Lord being angry destroyed his body. Thenceforth Kamdev and Rati inspire all the beings incorporeally in Basant – spring season.

The aristocrat ladies used to celebrate Basant-Utsav by worshipping –the statue of Kamdev and Rati as Nritya-Gosthi and Pan-Gosthi, –throwing colours and scents, singing songs and dancing. The modern society has lost the charm of those ancient Madanotsav, Kaumudi-Mahotsav and Salabhanjhi-Mahotsav.

In Kathmandu , Saraswati Puja had more significance because this day, the famous Basantapur Durbar was inaugurated and in the courtyard, Nasalchowk, the King used to audition the special Basant Shrawan ceremony. The tradition existed till last year. The King used to oversee a ceremony in Nasal Chowk, in the presence of the royal courtiers, bureaucrats and the Nepal army. The royal priest recites the selected verses from the Sanskrit Book Geet-Govinda-Kabya written by a Sanskrit poet Jayadev in Basant Raag, describing the Raslila between Lord Krishna and his Gopinis. Then the court’s musicians sing hymns. This day onwards Basant Raag can be heard in every ward of Kathmandu .

The students on this day visit different Saraswati temples in the valley. The Saraswati temple at Swayambhu, Nil Saraswati at Lazimpat and Lele Saraswati in Lalitpur are the most famous temples students visit on this day in Kathmandu .

The Buddhists in Kathmandu celebrate this day as the day of arrival of Maha Manjushree in Kathamandu. Hindus worship the Saraswati of Boudhanath and the Saraswsati of Swayambhu as Goddess Saraswati and the Buddhists worship the same idol as Mahamanjushree, a typical religious harmony found only in Nepal among the Hindus and the Buddhists. Thus Saraswati Puja also symbolises the deep-rooted unity in diversity of Nepalese culture.