SHAIVA FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

Kashi Kshetre Vishweshwarasya Shiva Prati Pratigydwayam | Jeevito Annam Dadsi Tvamrite Mukti Dadmyaham || The lord of the lords, Vishweshwara Mahdeva Shiva says, I have two owes for all those who live here in Kashi, (1) As long as the living being is alive, I will provide food and (2) when the being is deceased, I will bestow the eternal salvation. Kashi possesses both the Sakala (of a definite form) and Nishkala (formless) forms of Shiva. In the city of Shiva, many fairs and festivals are affiliated and associated with Shiva, observed thro gh o t the year, b t three of these are the most important vi!. Mahshivartri, Rangbhari Ekdashi and Annakoota. "n these a spicio s occasions, Kashi Vishwantha is especially dec#ed and decorated with a ceremony #nown as Shringra. These festivals are celebrated with f ll enth siasm by the devotees. Mahshivartri There is a detailed description of this festival in vario s Purnas vi!. Skandapurna, Pad apurna, Agnipurna, !arunapurna etc. The day of Phlguna Krishna "haturdashi (1$th of the waning fortnight of Phlguna) is celebrated as the special festival as a reminiscent of the marriage of Shiva and Prvati. It is believed and mentioned in the Purnas, that who ever fasts and worships Shivalinga with #ilvapatras (leaves of the wood%apple tree) and awa#es all night long praising Shiva with #ha$an%Keertana (religio s m sic)on this day is saved from being p nished in hell and is blessed with bliss and salvation and becomes Shiva himself. This festival is observed with splendor and boom in Kashi. In the Vishwanatha temple, the silver idol of Shiva%Paravati is decorated in grande r. &evotees from long%long distance come for the &arshana. The temple is too crowded to place even a foot. The devotees first ta#e bath in !ang 'i and then fast witho t even drin#ing water or with only fr it inta#e, wal# to many Shiva temples and perform a sterities. 'ome people worship the (ingas with 12(,))) #ilvapatras. 'ome people, to please Shiva, offer him his favorite sweets and drin#s

prepared with #hang (the into*icating herb, "annabis )ndi*a). The drin# is #nown as +handai (one which cools) consisting of almonds, cashew n t, raisins, c rrants, pepper, mil# and cream. A Shivabrt (an imitation of 'hiva+s procession to marriage) is also organi!ed on this day. This #rt begins from the Mrit,un$a,a Mahdeva temple and finali!es at the Kashi Vishwanatha. The bridegroom Shiva and his !anas in their pec liar ma#e p and wardrobe move singing and dancing. This ni, e form of Shivabrt is really agreeable. Rang hari !kdashi This festival occ rs - st before -oli in the month of Phalguna (.eb%/ar). This is the official anno ncement of the festival of -oli. 0ractically, Ekdashi is associated with Vishnu, b t in Kashi it is celebrated as a special festival related to Shiva. The inimitable Shringra in Kashi Vishwanatha on this day is never performed again ntil the occ rrence of this festival again in the ne*t year. The devotees offer Abir%!ull (red farinaceo s powder) to Shiva. A h man si!ed silver idol of Shiva%Prvati is placed in Kashi Vishwanath. In this idol, Shiva holds his terrifying +rishula (trident) in his right hand and Shringa (a horn) in his left hand. To his left, goddess Parvati seats and between them, the childhood !anesha sits. "n this day also the Shiva temples are densely pop lated. 1esides the Rangbhari Ekdashi, Shiva can be seen in vario s forms vi!. Pan*ha ukha (five headed), "haturbhu$a (fo r armed), +rinetra (three eyed) etc. on other festivals. 2e is decorated with #ilvapatra, Rudraksha, "handana ('andal paste) and Pushpa las (flower garlands). Annakoota This festival is observed on the second day to &eepawali on the Kartika Shukla Pratipada (1st of the wa*ing fortnight in Kartika 3oct%nov4). The Annakoota is observed with great grande r in all the Shaiva and Vaishnava temples of Kashi. The lord is offered "hhappana #hoga ((5 varieties of coo#ed food). There is a special &arshana in Kashi Vishwanath only on this very day, after &eepawali, for three days on the pper floor of KV, a three feet high golden idol of &evi Annapurna and Shiva is opened to see. Annapurna is sitting and giving food to Shiva with a spoon, and Shiva is standing in a begging pose. The "hhappana

#hoga is offered here too. This &arshana is available only once in a year and is worth of it. & ring these three days, co ntless n mber of devotees, visit here. 6arge wooden stairs are placed to reach the pper floor. "arita#ika Tee$ This fast, observed on #hadrapada Shukla +riti,a (7rd of the wa*ing fortnight in #hadrapada 3a g%sep4), is #nown as the #adi +ee$ (8reater Third) in Kashi. The women in Kashi on this day, bathe early in the morning before the s nrise, wear new clothes, ornate themselves with myrtle leaves+ paste in hands and feet, ma#e p and shape a symbolic stat e of Shiva% Parvati made of m d bro ght from !anga 'i which is worshiped in the evening and listen to the Vrata Katha (recitation of the story of fast). & ring this observance, they can+t even drin# a drop of water or even swallow their own saliva. After the Vrata Katha, they resolve #a,ana (sweets, fr its, glass bangles, mirror, myrtle leaves+ paste etc.) and offer alms to #rah ins. In the night they perform #ha$an%Keertana praising Shiva. The ne*t morning they again bathe in !anga 'i, worship, and discharge the m ddy stat es in !anga. After that, they brea# there fast. This Vrata is believed to be very fort nate and is the to ghest of them all. 9nmarried girls observe this fast to obtain an eligible h sband while the married women observe it for the long life of their h sbands. Pradosha Vrata This is the fortnightly fast observed twice in a month on +ra,odashi (17th). It is observed by men%women for prosperity and with aspiration of a male child. Vaikuntha %haturdashi This festival occ rs on Kartika Shukla "haturdashi (1$th of wa*ing fortnight in Kartika 3oct%nov4). In reality, it is a festival of Vishnu b t there is , eer , i*otic aspect of it in Kashi. "nly once in a year, on this very day, #ilvapatra is offered to Vishnu in the temple of #indu adhava (0anchganga 8hat) and +ulsidal (1asil leaves 3related to :ishn 4) is offered to shivalinga neighboring the temple. This probably, is the symbol of the combined form of Vishnu and Shiva, the ;-arihara+ (2ari<:ishn , 2ara<'hiva). The myth of -arihara is mentioned in #hagwat Purana.

The &air o' Shravana Masa Shravana is dedicated to Shiva. The devotees observe fasting every /onday this month. A Shravana with five /ondays is regarded highly a spicio s. The devotees also bathe in !anga 'i, and perform a sterities of 'alabhishek (dripping of water over an idol along with recitation of Mantra, =sacred syllable>). 'ome people hold or withhold Shatarudri Patha and Rudrabhisheka. & ring this whole month, the 'alabhishek of (inga has specific significance. &evotees from all across India come here to perform this a sterity and witness the dedication of other greater devotees li#e Sadhus and San,asis. This month devotees from #ihar #nown as the K.wari,as (holders of K.war, a long stic# with st ff of worship tied to both its ends) are the most n mber of people visiting :aranasi. They cheer, =#ol #a ,> 'ay 1am (1am<one of the many addresses to Shiva) or =#a %#a #hole,> 'hiva%'hiva, my innocent god. 2ere #hole means the ;ever bestowing nder any circ mstances+. The 'alabhishek of a Shivalinga in the month Shravana is considered e*tremely a spicio s and it m ltiplies many times when it is done in Kashi. 0eople from all over India come to perform 'alabhishek at Kashi Vishwanatha. The local devotees on the last /onday of Shravana, hold K.wars on their sho lder and travel bare footed to perform 'alabhishek on vario s Shivalingas of Kashi. This -o rney is completed in one day only. & ring this month, there is a h ge fair organi!ed near the &urga temple. T esdays of Shravana are dedicated to goddess &urga. The fair is crowded with local people and m ch with the people of r ral areas near by. :ario s recreational activities s ch as % swinging rides, several eatables and f n ma#ing can be done in this fair. Purushottama Msa This is also #nown as ;Adhika sa+ (e*tra month) or ;Mal sa+ (resid al month) as it+s added every three years in the 2ind calendar to sort o t the differences of the solar and l nar dates. This month is also dedicated to Shiva in Kashi. &evotees from long distances come to perform the &arshana% Pu$ana of Kashi Vishwanatha. They offer (akhauri (12(,))) bilvapatras with / Na aha Shiva,a written on it) to the Shivalingas. The only reason for this

observance is to tter the Mantra of Shiva for a h ndred and twenty five tho sand times. Pan(hkroshiya )atra Altho gh we have already disc ssed over this great -o rney towards ;oneness with the almighty+, yet this chapter will be incomplete witho t mentioning it. The co rse consists of many temples along the ro te of the -o rney of which five are the most important vi!. Karda eshwara, #hi a*handi, Ra eshwara, Kapiladhara and Manikarnika. As mentioned in the #rah avaivarta Purana, Kashi has all the temples of the +irthas of all India. 'o, people who can not visit all the shrines of India can come to Kashi to f lfill their wish. 'o, in this way, thro gh observing vario s festivals, fairs and -o rneys dedicated to Shiva, people not only accomplish their religio s goals b t also have f n and en-oyment being and traveling together which ca ses both, the life here on earth and after it, to be re-oiced. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Re'eren(es* Agrawa# Dr+ ,hanu- Kashi mein Shaiva Tyohar !vam .tsava/ &air and &estiva#s o' Varanasi/ J0na Pravha/ Varanasi/ 1223/ 45614+