Shraavana
Encyclopedia
Shraavana is a month
of the Hindu calendar
, also known as Sawan. In India's national civil calendar
, Shraavan is the fifth month of the Hindu year, beginning in late July and ending in the third week of August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as Aavani and is the fifth month of the solar year. Shraavan begins with the Sun
's entry into Cancer
.
In lunar religious calendars, Shraavana begins on the new moon and is the fifth month of the year.
is also celebrated as Narali Poornima (Naral in Marathi language
means coconut
). In the coastal regions of Maharashtra i.e. Konkan
, a coconut is offered to the sea for calming it down after the monsoon season. Fishermen now start fishing in the sea after this ceremony. Nag Panchami
is also celebrated in many parts of India on the fifth day after Amavasya
of Shraavana month. The snake god Nāga
is worshiped. The last day of the Shraavana is celebrated as Pola
, where the bull
is worshiped by farmers from Maharashtra.
Shravani Mela is a major festival time at Deoghar
in Jharkhand
with thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims bringing holy water around 100km on foot from the Ganga at Sultanganj. Shravan is also the time of the annual Kanwar Yatra
, the annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva
, known as Kanwaria make to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar
, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand
to fetch holy waters of Ganges River
Hindu saint Sri Guru Raghavendra Swami
, who advocated Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy, achieved Videha Mukti on Sraavana Bahula Dwitiya
in 1671 AD .
hits the over heated plains of India, the season is celebrated in various texts, such as Sanskrit
text, Meghaduta
by Kalidasa
. Many films too have been made with Sawan in their title, like Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke
, (1969), Sawan Bhadon
(1970), Solva Sawan
(1979), Sawan Ko Aane Do
(1979), Pyaasa Sawan
(1980), etc.
Also in Hindustani classical music
, many song are theme around, Radha
-Krishna
during the rainy season, plus Bollywood
songs, e.g., Sawan ki Ritu Aai, Sawan ka Mahina Pawan kare Sor.
During Shraavana the Hindu Community in the regions of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka practice Vegetarian Diet. This is because in the Monsoon season it is difficult to get sea food at this time of the year and it is thought that most fish spawn during this period and abstaining from fishing in Shraavana will lead to increased fish throughout the year.
Month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately...
of the Hindu calendar
Hindu calendar
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
, also known as Sawan. In India's national civil calendar
Indian national calendar
The Indian national calendar is the official civil calendar in use in India. It is used, alongside the Gregorian calendar, by The Gazette of India, news broadcasts by All India Radio, and calendars and communications issued by the Government of India.The term may also ambiguously refer to the...
, Shraavan is the fifth month of the Hindu year, beginning in late July and ending in the third week of August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as Aavani and is the fifth month of the solar year. Shraavan begins with the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
's entry into Cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
In lunar religious calendars, Shraavana begins on the new moon and is the fifth month of the year.
Festivals
Raksha Bandhan, the festival of brothers and sisters, is celebrated on Shraavana Poornima (Full Moon). This day in MaharashtraMaharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
is also celebrated as Narali Poornima (Naral in Marathi language
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
means coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
). In the coastal regions of Maharashtra i.e. Konkan
Konkan
The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...
, a coconut is offered to the sea for calming it down after the monsoon season. Fishermen now start fishing in the sea after this ceremony. Nag Panchami
Nag panchami
Nāg Panchamī is a festival during which religious Hindus in some parts of India worship either images of or live Nāgas on the fifth day after Amavasya of the month of Shraavana. Traditionally, married young women visit their premarital households to celebrate the festival...
is also celebrated in many parts of India on the fifth day after Amavasya
Amavasya
Amavasya is the Indian name for a New moon. The word Amavasya is common to many Indian languages especially Sanskrit, Hindi, Assamese, Kannada, Bengali, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Telugu, and Gujarati...
of Shraavana month. The snake god Nāga
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...
is worshiped. The last day of the Shraavana is celebrated as Pola
Pola (festival)
Pola is a bull-worshipping festival celebrated by farmers mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra. On the day of Pola, the farmers decorate and worship their bulls...
, where the bull
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
is worshiped by farmers from Maharashtra.
Shravani Mela is a major festival time at Deoghar
Deoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
in Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
with thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims bringing holy water around 100km on foot from the Ganga at Sultanganj. Shravan is also the time of the annual Kanwar Yatra
Kanwar Yatra
The Kānvar Yatrā or Kavad Yatra is annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva, known as Kānvarias, to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch holy waters of Ganges River, Ganga Jal, which is later offered at their local Shiva temples...
, the annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, known as Kanwaria make to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar
Haridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
to fetch holy waters of Ganges River
Ganges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
Hindu saint Sri Guru Raghavendra Swami
Raghavendra Swami
Raghavendra Theertha was a Hindu saint and philosopher who served as the head of the Sri Mutt in Kumbakonam from 1624 to 1636. He wrote a commentary Sudha Parimala on the Nyaya Sudha, an exposition of Dvaita philosophy...
, who advocated Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy, achieved Videha Mukti on Sraavana Bahula Dwitiya
Dwitiya
Dwitiya is the Sanskrit word for "second", and is the second day in the lunar fortnight of the Hindu calendar. Each month has two Dwitiya days, being the second day of the "bright" and of the "dark" fortnights respectively...
in 1671 AD .
| Shukla Paksha | Krishna Paksha |
|---|---|
| 1. Prathama Prathama Prathama Blood Centre is blood bank situated at Ahmedabad, jointly established in 2000, by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Advanced Transfusion Medicine Research Foundation as non-profit voluntary organization... |
1. Prathama |
| 2. Dwitiya Dwitiya Dwitiya is the Sanskrit word for "second", and is the second day in the lunar fortnight of the Hindu calendar. Each month has two Dwitiya days, being the second day of the "bright" and of the "dark" fortnights respectively... |
2. Dwitiya |
| 3. Tritiya Tritiya Tritiya is the Sanskrit word for "three", and is the third day in the lunar fortnight of the Hindu calendar. Each month has two Tritiya days, being the third day of the "bright" and of the "dark" fortnights respectively... |
3. Tritiya |
| 4. Chaturthi Chaturthi Chaturthi or Chaviti , is the fourth day of any lunar month in the Hindu calendar.-Festivals of Chaturthi:* Ganesh Chaturthi is one of prominent Chaturthi on which Lord Ganesha makes his presence on the earth.... |
4. Chaturthi |
| 5. Panchami Panchami Panchami is the fifth day of the fortnight in Hindu lunar calendar.-Festivals:Nag Panchami is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindus in most parts of India. It is celebrated in Shravan month. On this day, people worship Nāga Devata . People go to temples and snake pits and worship the snakes... |
5. Panchami |
| 6. Shashti Shashti Shashti is the sixth day or tithi of a pakSha or fourteen-day phase of the moon. The word comes from the Sanskrit cardinal ShaRh , whence the ordinal number ShaShTha , fem... |
6. Shashti |
| 7. Saptami Saptami Saptami is the seventh day of the fortnight in Hindu lunar calendar.-Festivals:Ratha Saptami: Lord Vishnu in his form as Surya is usually worshiped on this day... |
7. Saptami |
| 8. Ashtami Ashtami - Festivals :Krishna Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami: is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, an avatar of Hindu deity Vishnu.Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhaadra in the Hindu calendar, when... |
8. Ashtami |
| 9. Navami Navami -Festivals:* Sri Rama Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating of the birth of Lord Rama. It is celebrated in Chaitra month .* Swaminarayan Jayanti is a Hindu Fesival celebrating the birth of Lord Swaminarayan.It is celebrated in Chaitra month on the ninth day which actually falls onto Sri Rama... |
9. Navami |
| 10.Dashami Dashami Dashami is the Sanskrit word for "ten", and is the tenth day in the lunar fortnight of the Hindu calendar. Each month has two Dashami days, being the tenth day of the "bright" and of the "dark" fortnights respectively... |
10.Dashami |
| 11.Ekadashi Ekadashi Ekadashi , also spelled as Ekadasi, is the eleventh lunar day of the shukla or krishna paksha of every lunar month in the Hindu calendar . In Hinduism and Jainism it is considered a spiritually beneficial day... |
11.Ekadashi |
| 12.Dwadashi | 12.Dwadashi |
| 13.Thrayodashi Thrayodashi Thrayodashi is the Sanskrit word for "thirteen", and is the thirteenth day in the lunar fortnight of the Hindu calendar. Each month has two Thrayodashi days, being the thirteenth day of the "bright" and of the "dark" fortnights respectively... |
13.Thrayodashi |
| 14.Chaturdashi Chaturdashi In the Hindu calendar, Chaturdashi is the 14th day of the waxing phase or waning phase of the moon. This is the day prior to new moon or full moon... |
14.Chaturdashi |
| 15.Pournima Full Moon Full moon is a lunar phase.Full Moon may also refer to:- Literature :* Full Moon , a novel by P. G. Wodehouse* Full Moon o Sagashite or Full Moon, a manga* Full Moon Press, an American small-press publisher... |
15. Amavasya Amavasya Amavasya is the Indian name for a New moon. The word Amavasya is common to many Indian languages especially Sanskrit, Hindi, Assamese, Kannada, Bengali, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Telugu, and Gujarati... |
In popular culture
Being the period when the MonsoonMonsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
hits the over heated plains of India, the season is celebrated in various texts, such as Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
text, Meghaduta
Meghaduta
Meghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works...
by Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
. Many films too have been made with Sawan in their title, like Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke
Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke
Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke is a 1969 film directed by Raghunath Jhalani. It became a box office hit. The film stars Dharmendra , Asha Parekh, Balraj Sahni, Nazima, Bindu, Aruna Irani, and Rajindernath. The music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal and the lyrics by Anand Bakshi...
, (1969), Sawan Bhadon
Sawan Bhadon
Sawan Bhadon is a 1970 Bollywood film produced and directed by Mohan Segal. The film was the debut film for its lead pair Rekha and Navin Nischol. The other cast of note in the film are Jayshree T, Iftekhar and Ranjeet. The music is by Sonik Omi...
(1970), Solva Sawan
Solva Sawan
Solva Sawan is a 1979 Bollywood film directed by Bharathi Rajaa. Music by Jayadev Verma and cinematography by P.S.Nivas.-Cast:The film stars Amol Palekar, Sridevi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda,...
(1979), Sawan Ko Aane Do
Sawan Ko Aane Do
Sawan Ko Aane Do is a 1979 Rajshri Productions Hindi movie produced by Tarachand Barjatya and directed by Kanak Mishra. The film was noted for its enchanting songs and charismatic performance by Arun Govil....
(1979), Pyaasa Sawan
Pyaasa Sawan
Pyaasa Sawan is 1981 Hindi language movie directed by Dasari Narayana Rao and starring Jeetendra, Reena Roy, Vinod Mehra, Moushmi Chatterji, Madan Puri, Aruna Irani, Deven Verma, Ashalata.-Cast:* Jeetendra - Chandrakant/Ravi* Reena Roy - Manorama...
(1980), etc.
Also in Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
, many song are theme around, Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
-Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
during the rainy season, plus Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
songs, e.g., Sawan ki Ritu Aai, Sawan ka Mahina Pawan kare Sor.
During Shraavana the Hindu Community in the regions of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka practice Vegetarian Diet. This is because in the Monsoon season it is difficult to get sea food at this time of the year and it is thought that most fish spawn during this period and abstaining from fishing in Shraavana will lead to increased fish throughout the year.
See also
- Hindu calendarHindu calendarThe hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
- Hindu units of measurementHindu units of measurementVedic and Puranic units of time span from the Paramáńu to the mahamanvantara . Its clearly given in Hindu Vedic knowledge that the creation and destruction of the universe is a cyclical process and the timespan of the universe is 311.04 trillion years...
- Hindu astronomyHindu astronomyHistorical Indian astronomy develops as a discipline of Vedanga or one of the "auxiliary disciplines" associated with the study of the Vedas.The oldest extant text of astronomy is the treatise by Lagadha, dated to the Mauryan era ....
- Jyotish