Basant Panchami is a festival that is celebrated in India to honor Goddess Saraswati. She is the symbol of wisdom, learning, art and music in the Indian sub-continent and Hindu culture. It is therefore also called Saraswati Puja in many parts of the country. The auspicious occasion also marks the arrival of spring in India, for ‘Vasant’ literally translates to ‘spring’ and since it falls on the fifth day of the Hindi month of ‘maagh', it is called ‘panchmi’. The festival of Vasant Panchami also marks the starting of Holi or Holika, which takes place after forty days of this festival. Vasant Panchami is thus the harbinger of spring and also announces the arrival of the festival of colors, Holi in the Indian subcontinent.
The legends associated with Basant Panchami are multiple and one of the most prominent tales include Lord Shiva, his consort Goddess Parvati and Kama- the God of pleasure and erotic love. According to the story, Goddess Parvati sought Kama Deva's help to awaken Shiva from the state of deep meditation. At the behest of Parvati, Kama Deva used a bow made of sugarcane and aimed an arrow of flowers at Shiva to draw his attention towards the physical world. This action taken by Kama enraged Lord Shiva, and he opened his third eye to burn Kama Deva into ashes. Subsequently, Rati, Kama’s consort, performed copious amounts of penance to sought Lord Shiva's blessings to resurrect her husband's life. In a nutshell, the event symbolizes the return of Shiva from the state of Vairagya or dispassion to Grihastha or household. The festival is thus associated with harvest and bringing home food. The color yellow, which is worn largely on this day is also associated with the harvest of mustard. Yellow colored food items are also cooked to mark the auspicious day and offer sweet food preparations to Goddess Saraswati.
