Keeping alive a tradition

For prosperity

Shravana is the most auspicious month in the Hindu calender. Each and every day of this month has a religious significance.

Lord Shiva and goddess Mahalakshmi are worshipped throughout the month. Varamahalakshmi Vratam is an auspicious occasion to invoke the blessings of the Goddess of wealth and prosperity Mahalakshmi. It is observed on the Friday which falls before the full moon day of this month.

As usual, the women folk in the City are all set to worship the manifestations of Lakshmi so that their family is bestowed with prosperity and good health. The festival is popular in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and in some parts of Maharashtra and Orissa, where married women perform the puja.

The City is known for its grand puja celebrations. The preparations begin two days before the big day and include buying of new clothes, gold, flowers, fruits and decorating the house with mango leaves. On Friday, the puja begins with the placing of kalasha on the mandala and invoking Lakshmi.

“This puja is significant because the original vrata was pronounced by none other than Lord Shiva to his wife Parvathi in Skanda Purana. Those who worship Lakshmi’s eight incarnations on this day will be bestowed with varas or boons.

It is said that Lakshmi should be adorned with new clothes, gold and flowers. But more than the opulence, a clean mind is a requisite for any puja and it can be performed in simpler ways also,” says Radha, who has been performing the vrata for the last 15 years.

But she laments that the younger generation has been losing faith in such traditions. “These days, women, especially those who are working, hardly take up such vratas,” she adds.

Since the puja is for Lakshmi, however modern people may be, they do not want to ignore the importance of the day. Shila, a bank employee, who got married recently, says that she has taken leave to observe the vrata.

“It is true that women of my generation are least bothered about such festivals. I do not want to neglect this one. I am doing this on the suggestion of a priest. So, with all my devotion, I am observing the vrata.”

Though Shubha Kiran, a housewife is not into fasting, she is all prepared to celebrate it in a simple way by worshipping the goddess. “My celebration is limited to a small puja and inviting some women home to offer vermilion and flowers,” she says.