Rishi Panchami 2014

On the blessed Rishi Panchami day, religious people pay great tribute to our Seven Sages. Performing rituals and customs on this auspicious day help devotees to sanitize or purify their soul, mind and body.

Rishi Panchami in 2014 is on August 30. This auspicious day comes on the fifth day of Krishna Paksh in the Hindu month of Bhadrapad. Rishi is Hindi and Sanskrit word which means sage and panchami is denoted for fifth day. As this sacred day of sages falls on fifth day it is respected as 'Rishi Panchami'. Rishi Panchami falls on next day of Ganesh Chaturthi. This sacred day has a great connotation in all regions of India including neighbor country Nepal. But people residing on hill stations consider this day special. On this auspicious day, fast is observed and rituals, customs are performed in honor of Sapt Rishi (seven sages). These Sapt Rishi are Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadhvaja, Vishvamitra, Gauthama, Jamadagni and Vashishta. On this sacred day, devotees, especially women, observe a strict fast which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Sages. And this fast is broken after offering customs and pooja to sages. The fast is broken in some places after the Rishi Panchami Pooja. Datiwan herb is specially used by women on this day for having pious bath. In massive crowd, devotees also visit temples and shrines of Lord Shiva. In various part of North India, women observe fast of Hartalika Teej for three days and conclude it on the third day means, on the Rishi Panchami day. It is acknowledged that our ancient sages have the great role for illuminating lives of mankind. They have enlighten the lives of human beings by offering them wise knowledge.

Significance of Rishi Panchami

Rishi Panchami day commemorates the abundant wisdom and sagacious efforts of Rishi and muni of India who performed years of strict meditation in search of their true self. They enlightened human lives by offering them their immense wise knowledge for good direction in life. It is strongly believed that worshipping our seven sages during this auspicious day certainly help us to be pure from heart and mind. It removes all impurities from our heart and bestows us positive aura that makes us bright in life forever.

Story to commemorate importance of Rishi Panchami

According to a narration given by Lord Brahma, there was a Brahmin called Uttank used to live with his wife Sushila. They had a daughter who got married with a person. But in very short span of time, her husband had passed away and thus his widow and daughter used to stay with her parents in a cottage near to bank of a river. One day that widow daughter was sleeping in a cottage and suddenly her body was covered with ants. Her parents saw this and was shocked. They called a Rishi to treat her trouble. But that Rishi told the reason of covering ants on her body. He said that in her previous birth she entered in kitchen during her menstruation. This way she forgot to apply some important canon of life. The Brahmin suggested them to perform Rishi Panchami puja with full of devotion. Uttak and Shushila understood the meaning of the Brahmin and influenced their daughter to follow the procedures of puja during Rishi Pancahmi day. After performing rituals she became free from her previous year births Rajswala (menstruation) dosh. Likewise, any woman religiously performs pooja on rishi panchami day certainly becomes free from any kind of dosh in life. Rishi Panchami vrat sanitizes mankind, especially women.

What rituals and customs devotees offer to Sages during Rishi Panchami?

On the auspicious day of Rishi Panchami, devotes wake up early in the morning and observe strict fast for the whole day. Devotees use Upmarga, a special kind of herb, to clean their teeth. For bath they use Datiwan herb that purifies their body and spirit and then fast is observed. For sanitizing their soul they drink a mixture of curd, milk, basil and butter. Before concluding fast, they heartily worship Sapt Rishi , pay them a great homage spiritually and offer them varieties of blessed food, flowers, and other pooja items. Mantra and strota are chanted to invoke presence of seven sages.

Therefore, observing Rishi panchami vrat (fasting) is a wise solution to sanitize both body and soul. The person who feels darkness in life or is not clear about one's goal should certainly pay tribute to sapt rishi during Rishi Panchami day.