After the celebrations of Makar Sankranti it is time to celebrate and welcome the most beautiful season of the year. People all over India start preparations to welcome the king of all seasons- spring. Basant means spring and it is called Basant Panchami as it falls on the fifth day of Magh (January-February) Shukla. It is a time to celebrate ‘nature’. Whole of the nature starts to transform itself and prepares itself for this beautiful season. Trees start to appear greener; flowers with different colour start to bloom making every thing full of grace and beauty. Sun is brighter and comforting after the frosty winter. Fields are full of yellow mustards flowers.



It is the most auspicious day for the Hindus across the world. The day is believed to be the birthday of Goddess Sarasvati, who is considered to be the Goddess of knowledge, music and words. She is the Goddess of civilization as without her there would be utter chaos in the world. It is believed that after Brahma created earth he was very disappointed with his creation, as there was no order in his creations. To bring order on earth he created Goddess Saraswati. She is the embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, music, words, art, science and crafts. She is the Goddess of creativity and inspiration. She is worshipped on the day of Basant Panchami, when the nature is in its full majesty.

As the above Mantra describes, Goddess Sarswati has always been the ultimate inspiration to every knowledge seeker. They ask for the blessings of mother Sarswati to achieve wisdom and understanding. In the old times people used to send their children in Ashram or Gurukul on this very day. In Hindu religion life is divided into four periods. First period is dedicated to the knowledge earning, and it is considered one of the most important periods. Goddess Saraswati is described as being seated on a white Lotus, clad in white attire. She wears a garland of white flowers and holds Vina. In her four hands are the things related to knowledge, art and music. She holds a Vina, aksamala (rosary) and Pushtaka (book). She is the epitome of universal knowledge. The whiteness that surrounds her signifies truth, wisdom and life.

Her Vehicle (Vahana) is the hansa (swan). The swan signifies wisdom (Vivek) to choose right from the wrong. The veena in her hand has seven strings, they represent the seven essential Swaras and they also stand for the seven essential colours. The sweet music of her veena signifies life and beauty. The pen in her hand is a symbol of words. Goddess Saraswati is always dressed in white, which is a colour of purity, peace and light against the darkness. The rosary made of Tulsi beads symbolizes perseverance. And ultimately the Vedas in her hand signify understanding and intelligence.