{"id":1293,"date":"2010-09-01T22:58:57","date_gmt":"2010-09-01T22:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/2010\/09\/shraavan-maas\/"},"modified":"2020-07-16T18:46:49","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T17:46:49","slug":"shraavan-maas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/?p=1293","title":{"rendered":"Shraavan Maas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>By Sanjay Parekh<br \/>\nNHSF Learning Team<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chaturmaas is a period of four months during the monsoon season, typically falling between July and October (Gregorian calendar), depending on the position of the moon. Shraavan is the most auspicious month during this sacred period.<\/p>\n<p>Shraavan, also known as Sawan, is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar, beginig from Chaitra (typically beginning in March or April). The month, Shraavan is named as so due to the star, Shravana, which rules the sky.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Each day of Shraavan is considered holy and has its own significance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Monday: Known as Shravan Somvar, this day is auspicious to Lord Shiva.<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday: Hindu women worship goddess Gauri for the health and well-being of their family.<\/li>\n<li>Wednesday: This day is dedicated to Vithala, a form of Vishnu or Krishna.<\/li>\n<li>Thursday: This day is dedicated to the worship of Buddha and the Guru.<\/li>\n<li>Friday: Hindu homes worship Lakshmi and Tulsi on this auspicious day.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday: Known as Sampat Shanivara (wealth Saturday), this day is dedicated to the worship of Hanumanji and Balaji.<\/li>\n<li>Sunday: Surya, the Sun God, is worshipped on this day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Any religious activity carried out during Shraavan is considered to be of the highest value. During the month of Shraavan, Hindus also fast (daily) and give up addictions to improve their personal well-being (to please God).<\/p>\n<h2>Shravan Somvara Vrat<\/h2>\n<p>Another name for Shiva is Someshvara, he who wears the soma, the moon crescent on the matted hair. During Shraavan Maas, many devotees observe a Shraavan Somvara Vrat (fasting on each Monday in Shraavan).<\/p>\n<p>The Vrat is observed by devotees waking early to take a bath and then offer prayers to Lord Shiva. Puja is conducted with Abhishek and the Lord is bathed in Panchamrit: nectar made with milk, yoghurt, honey, sugar and ghee. The Lord is also offered Bilva leaves, from the fruit bearing tree Aegle marmelos, which has long been associated with the worship of Lord Shiva, and represents his vegetal form.<\/p>\n<p>During the day devotees consume only non-solid foods such as milk, buttermilk, fruit juice and fruits. Devotees then break their fast (by eating their evening meal) after praying to Lord Shiva. It is believed that one who carries out the Shraavan Somvara Vrat has their prayers answered.<\/p>\n<h2>Festivals during Shraavan Maas<\/h2>\n<p>Many religious festivals fall within this holy month, including Hindola, Raksha Bhandhan and Janmashtami.<\/p>\n<h3>Hindola<\/h3>\n<p>Shraavan Maas is associated with the swing, also known as hindola, jhoola or dola. The swings are lavishly decorated with garlands, and deities (usually Radha and Krishna) are placed on them. The swinging motion is said to create ecstasy and a state of identification with the Supreme Lord.<\/p>\n<h3>Raksha Bandhan<\/h3>\n<p>This festival is also called Rakhi Purnima since it falls upon Purnima (the day of the full moon) of Shraavan. A rakhi (a decorated silk thread\/bracelet) is tied by the sister on her brother\u2019s right wrist for his longevity, welfare, wealth and health of the brother. In return, the brother makes a solemn vow to protect his sister.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=743\">Click here to learn more about Raksha Bhandhan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Janmashtami<\/h3>\n<p>Janmashtami is a grand Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Sri Krishna.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of Bhagavan Vishnu\u2019s incarnation to earth is ordained in the Bhagavada Gita (4\/78):<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>||Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharat;<br \/>\nDharma sanstaapanaarthaaya sambhaavami yuge yuge||<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8216;I incarnate whenever Dharma declines and evil predominates, to establish Dharma and vanquish evil\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Sri Krishna overcame evil by killing his Uncle (Mama) Kansa (Life of Sri Krishna) and establishing Dharma in society (Mahabharata).<\/p>\n<p>Since Sri Krishna lived in luxury throughout his life, Sri Krishna Jayanti is celebrated with pomp and splendour. Celebrations are held on a grand scale in all Krishna temples, especially the ones in Vrindavan, Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Dvaraka (Gujarat), and other regionally famous temples. Devotees sing devotional songs, read or hear texts from the scriptures and many fast until midnight, when Aarti is performed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=744\">Click here to learn more about Janmashtami. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sanjay Parekh NHSF Learning Team Chaturmaas is a period of four months during the monsoon season, typically falling between July and October (Gregorian calendar), depending on the position of the moon. Shraavan is the most auspicious month during this sacred period. Shraavan, also known as Sawan, is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":3591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-utsavs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}