Gauri Pujan is the festival of worshiping Goddess Parvati celebrated by Maharashtrians. It is also celebrated in few other places near Maharashtra. Know about the features of this festival which makes it unique. On the day of Gauri Pujan all Maharashtrian women stay awake the whole night and play traditional games like Zhimma and Phugdi. Read on to find more about how Gauri Pujan festival is celebrated.
Festivals have a special importance in life of every individual. People from all the religions celebrate their festivals in their own way. One such festival is Gauri Pujan which resembles some Hindu festivals but has its own unique features. Parvati mother of Lord Ganesh is also known as Gauri. Gauri Pujan is all about worshiping Goddess Parvati or Gauri.
It is celebrated mainly in Maharashtra. It falls during the fourth or fifth day of Ganesh Chaturthi. It is regarded as the festival of Maharastrian women. It is the only time in a year when women enjoy themselves along with their friends. This Puja is very well known in Maharashtra as 'Mangala Gauri'. According to Hindus Mangala means holy and auspicious. To know more about this holy celebration read on.
Just like Ganesh idol, Gauri idol is brought one day before Gauri Pujan or along with Ganesh idol. Gauri is brought home in form of the idol or a simple image on a paper. In Maharashtra most of the families bring Gauri idols but in some villages near Maharashtra people prefer to worship an image of Goddess Gauri. Most of the Maharastrians bring Gauri idol exclusively during Gauri Pujan day during Ganesh Chaturthi. There are some people who bring an image of Goddess Gauri on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi itself.
It is believed by most of the devotees that the holy rays come out of the Gauri image or idol during the period of Gauri Pujan which puts end to sufferings. Gauri Pujan also brings prosperity and well being to the mankind. Some people also worship the images of Lord Shiva and Goddess Gauri during Ganesh Chaturthi. This is done with the view of paying respect to the parents of Lord Ganesh.
If the devotees bring idol they drape the idol with a very fine and colourful sari. The devotees also decorate the idol with the jewellery like green bangles, mangalsutra, nose-ring, necklace etc. mangalsutra and green bangles are the most important jewellery which Hindu married women wear. Goddess Gauri is also offered a hair band of flowers known as Veni in Marathi which is worn on the backside of the head. Devotees also offer garlands to Goddess Gauri.
Gauri Pujan requires leaves and flower of a specific plant. It also requires systematic Puja to be done by inviting a Pujari at home. Performing Aarti is also necessary during Gauri Pujan. After the systematic Puja is performed all the women visit each others house to offer coconut, a piece of cloth, flowers, bananas, rice and even new saris to the idol of Goddess Gauri.
All the women wear new saris and all the traditional jewellery on this day. On the night of Gauri Pujan all the women gather together and sing Mangala Gauri songs. These songs have a traditional base and reflect the life style of Hindu married women. Males do not take part in this function. This occasion is considered important in the life of a newly married Maharastrian woman as her first Mangala Gauri.
All the women taking part in Mangala Gauri occasion are awake the whole night and play various games. The typical games known as Zhimmaa and Phugadi are played during this occasion. In Zhimmaa women clap hands and sing songs to tease each other. Phugadi is played by crossing both hands and holding each others hands just as we shake them. After holding hands in this specific position, women move round in circles and sing songs. The whole night is full of fun and joy for the women.
Gauri Visarjan;-
Gauri Visarjan is done immediately the next day of Gauri Pujan. It is done along with Ganesh Visarjan on sixth or seventh day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Before Gauri Visarjan Aarti is performed and the Prasad of cooked rice mixed with curd and cooked fenugreek leaves is offered to the idol. This Prasad is then distributed amongst the devotees as the blessings of Goddess Gauri.
The occasions like Gauri Pujan and Ganesh Chaturthi are major events for the Maharastrians. They celebrate it according to the Marathi calendar. These festivals are vital to bring families and friends together. These festivals play an important role in making the bonds of love stronger.
Ganesha and Gauri:-
Vinayaka was created by goddess Parvati with the little turmeric paste from her body. Ganesh Chaturthi, or Vinayaka Chaturthi, is the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the God of wisdom, prosperity and auspiciousness. The Ganesh Chaturthi falls on fourth day of the waxing moon in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (August - September). To Venerate his birthday and to get his blessings, every year in India, the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with full of piety. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated for ten days. In some parts of India, it is celebrated for one day on the Ganesh Chaturthi day also.
The idols of Gauri, the incarnation of Parvati, are brought usually two days after the outset of Ganesh Chaturthi. It is placed for three days – first day is the arrival (avahana), next day it is worship (Satyanarayan puja), and on the third day Gauri is immersed in water. Arrival of Goddess Gauri in homes is the herald of health, wealth, happiness and prosperity. Two idols of Goddess Gauri are brought home and adored. These two Gauri idols are regarded as sisters of Ganesha. In West Bengal, goddess Lakshmi and goddess Saraswati are sisters of Ganesha, and all three are the progenies of goddess Durga. In some places, Laxmi is invited along with Gauri. Some legends suggest that Laxmi and Sarsawati always stay with lord Ganesha in the form his two wives Riddhi and Siddhi. Goddess Laxmi is always worshipped associated with some other gods or goddesses. When no one is associated with Laxmi, then she comes with her twin elder sister Kulaxmi, the goddess of strife. That is what, alone Laxmi is not invited or worshiped. In this festival, Laxmi comes with Gauri.
One may wonder about the different relationship and interpretation of Gauri with lord Ganesha. Let us accentuate on the message of this festival. At the time of Ganesha Chaturthi, the earth looks green due to the crops in the field. Gauri is also Annapurna Devi, wears a green sari, reflecting the verdancy covering the earth at this time. Gauri comes with prosperity (Laxmi), so two idols of Gauri, one for Parvati in form of Gauri and another for Laxmi. Parvati has created Vinayaka without lord Shiva intervention; this is the significance of woman's power to create wonders. Gauri in the form of Laxmi and Sarsawati as sisters signifies that, these two sisters follow lord Ganesh, the embodiment of wisdom. Laxmi and Sarsawati cannot stay together without wisdom. Laxmi and Sarsawati are considered the form of his wives, Riddhi and Siddhi. One cannot get Siddhi (Prosperity, Goal achieved) without Riddhi (Knowledge, perseverance). Riddhi and Siddhi cannot stay together without Ganesha (Wisdom).
Gauri is normally followed by Ganesha, and hence their relationship is tied up as of sisters and brother. In the past, the married girls were under draconian family restrictions. At a few occasions, they were allowed to visit their parents’ home. Gauri-Ganapati was such an occasion, when the married girls could see their parents and stay with them. After being worshipped, these idols are immersed in water, a reminder of the cyclical nature of all existence.
There could be different legends, different interpretation, and different method of performing worship that might vary from community to community and place to place. The crucial point is not its ritual but its message, devotion and self-realization.
Worship Puja of Goddess Gauri during Ganesh Chaturthi Festival:-
During the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, which celebrates Lord Ganesha's birthday, another deity who is worshipped is Goddess Gauri. Many people bring home a small idol of Goddess Gauri in the same manner as the Ganpati idol is brought home - with a lot of fanfare and whoops of joy, often accompanied by the loud beating of drums.
Goddess Gauri is Lord Ganesha's mother. Before marriage, Her name was Parvati. She was eager to marry Lord Shiva, but her father did not regard Lord Shiva as an eligible husband for her due to his living like a medicant in the Himalayas. Nevertheless, Gauri set out to woo Lord Shiva and did a good deal of tapasya (penance), eventually winning the heart of Lord Shiva.
Goddess Gauri is considered to be one of the many forms of Shakti, the Mother of the universe, with lots of power. Goddess Gauri is symbolic of fertility and motherhood and of the victory of good over evil.
The idol of Goddess Gauri is always brought home 4 days after the beginning of the Ganesh festival and worshipped with the Lord Ganesha idol for 1 ½ days. To invite Goddess Gauri home, first her footsteps are symbolically drawn at the threshold of the home, either with rangoli powder or with kumkum. A married woman of the family brings the idol inside the home. The idol of Goddess Gauri is placed next to the idol of Lord Ganesha and besides Her idol is placed a kalash (copper pot); the kalash is a symbolic representation of Lord Shiva. Goddess Gauri is then worshipped with an aarti and prayers. The next day, a special meal is cooked for Goddess Gauri and this cooked food, along with sweets and fruits, are offered to Goddess Gauri - these offerings are known as Naivedya.
Gauri Visarjan is the immersion of the idol of Goddess Gauri in the sea. Gauri Visarjan is done after keeping the idol of Goddess Gauri in the home for 1 ½ days. (though a few families keep the idol for 3 days).
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