Bhadra Baras 2024: Bhadra Baras is celebrated four days after Janmashtami during the Krishna Paksha of the Bhadrapada month that holds immense significance. This festival will fall on August 30, 2024, and is marked by the worship of cows and their calves. On this day, mothers bless their sons by applying a sacred tilak on their foreheads and offering them laddus after breaking a ceremonial clay pot. Women observe fasts and perform rituals, praying for the well-being and prosperity of their children.
Here's date, significance, puja muhurat and all about this festival:
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Rituals Of Bachh Baras:
On Bhadra Baras, it is customary not to consume dishes made from wheat or vegetables cut with knives. Instead, women prepare sogra (a traditional Rajasthani dish made from millet or sorghum) and a dry vegetable curry made from sprouted grains. After the morning worship of cows, women decorate a small pond, crafted from clay and cow dung, with raw milk and water, and perform rituals with kumkum, mauli, incense sticks, and lamps. The tale of Bhadra Baras is also recited.
Why Is Bachh Baras Celebrated:
Bhadra Baras is also known as Govatsa Dwadashi and is celebrated on the 12th day of Krishna Paksha in the Bhadrapada month, which falls on August 30 this year. The festival is associated with Lord Krishna's love for cows and calves, symbolising the divine connection between humans and animals.
It is believed that worshipping cows and their calves on Bhadra Baras brings blessings from Lord Krishna and hundreds of deities residing in the cows, ensuring prosperity and happiness in the household. This festival is particularly popular among Rajasthani women.
Puja Essentials And Procedure
For the Bhadra Baras puja, materials like buffalo milk and curd, soaked chickpeas, and moth beans are used. Moth-bajra is mixed with ghee and sugar. A tilak is applied to the cow using roli, and instead of rice, bajra is offered. In the ceremony, soaked chickpeas, moth, bajra, and a coin are placed in a bowl as offerings. If it is not possible to worship a cow directly, a symbolic cow and calf made of clay are crafted and worshipped.
A small pit is made in the middle of the clay figure and filled with milk and curd. Offerings are then placed, and after performing the puja, roli and a coin are offered as a donation. The worship concludes with the recitation of the Bhadra Baras tale, and women place offerings in the lap of the family’s eldest female member as a mark of respect.
The Udhyapan Ceremony:
The Udhyapan ceremony is performed in the year a son is born or married. The rituals are carried out as usual, with an additional offering of soaked moth and bajra. Two small balls of dough made from millet flour mixed with ghee and sugar, along with two pieces of cucumber, are placed on thirteen small mounds. A piece of cloth (two sarees and a blouse piece) and a coin are offered to the family’s eldest female member. This completes the Udhyapan of Bhadra Baras.
Significance of Cow Worship:
According to the hindu mythology, the cow is revered as the embodiment of all pilgrimage sites. The sacred cow, or' Gaumata', is considered superior to any deity or pilgrimage. Simply seeing a cow brings more merit than performing grand rituals or donations.
It is believed that worshipping a cow satisfies all deities and ancestors, and feeding a cow is equivalent to offering food to all gods. According to the Bhavishya Purana, the back of the cow is home to Brahma, Vishnu resides in its neck, Rudra in its mouth, all deities in its middle, sages in its hair, the Ananta serpent in its tail, mountains in its hooves, rivers like Ganga in its urine, Lakshmi in its dung, and the Sun and Moon in its eyes. Hence, women celebrate Bhadra Baras or Govatsa Dwadashi for the well-being of their children and the prosperity of their families.
On this day, a special meal is prepared at home, including sogra (millet bread) and a curry made from sprouted grains. Buffalo or goat milk is used instead of cow milk, honouring the significance of the cow on Bhadra Baras.
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