Vasanta (Ritu)

Vasanta (Sanskrit: वसन्तः; Hindi: बसंत; Punjabi: ਬਸੰਤ, ﺑﺴﻨﺖ; Kannada: ವಸಂತ; Telugu: వసంత; Malayalam: വസന്തം, Tamil: வஸந்தம்) also known as Basant, refers to the Indian spring, and ritu means season.

One of the main festivals of the Vasanta season is celebrated on Vasanta Panchami (Sanskrit: वसन्त पञ्चमी) which in Nepali and Indian society is a cultural and religious festival, celebrated annually on the first day of spring, the fifth day (Panchami) of the Hindu month Magh (January–February).

In Sanskrit Vasanta means spring. Panchami is the fifth day of Shukla Paksha, the fortnight of the waxing moon in the Hindu month of Magh, (January - February). Vasanta Panchami, which marks the end of the winter and heralds in spring, is dedicated to goddess Saraswati. She is a goddess of water and of a river bearing her name. Her water originates in the Himalayas, flows southeast and meets the Ganges at Prayag near its confluence with the Yamuna (Triveni). Saraswati is also a goddess of speech and learning who blesses the world with vach (words), hymns, Sanskrit and the wealth of knowledge. It is auspcious for children to begin school and learn their first word on this day. In the ancient Indian texts, the Vedas, the prayer for Sarasvati depicts her as a pristine lady in a white dress embellished with white flowers and white pearls. She sits on a white lotus blooming in a wide stretch of water (neluhini). She holds a veena, a string instrument similar to a sitar. No animal is sacrifices and Indians have a vegetarian meal. Saraswati's prayer concludes,

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