Ugadi is the one of the most important festival of the telugu speaking people all over the world. The name “Ugadi” came from Yuga + Aadi which means beginning of a new year. The main theme of Ugadi is leaving past behind and starting afresh with postive expectations. According to the Lunar Calender, new year begins on this day. Ugadi is observed on Chaitra Shuddha Padyami of the Hindu Calendar. It is belived that Lord Brahma started creating the world. Lord Rama began his rule in Ayodhya after killing Ravana on this day. The great mathematician Bhaskaracharya proclaimed the commencement of the new year from Ugadi day. Ugadi thus celebrated to mark a new beginning to new year. The day also marks the beginning of spring season, which is considered to be the first of all seasons,with pants, shoots, and leaves coming to life and therfore, the day is belived to set things rolling for a successful new beginning .
This festival is celebrated in the other states by other names and they fallow Solar Calendar.
• Maharashtra it is celebrated as GudiPadava .
• Assam it is celebrated as Bihu.
• Kerala it is celebrated as Kolla Varsham .
• Punjab it is celebrated as Baisakhi .
On this day everyone will woke up early in the morning, and take oil baths according to the ritual, because it is belived that during festivals Goddess Lakshmi resides in oil and Goddess Ganga in water, that's the reason everyone will take head bath, wears new clothes. People will decorate their houses with green Mango leaves, flowers and windows with strings of mango leaves that signify good crop and general well-being over the year. These green mango leaves are found of Lord Ganesh and Kartikeya.
On this day people eat special Ugadi pachadi made from neem flowers.
On this day people will listen to the Panchagam (Panchanga Sravanam)for the upcoming year made by the pundits. This is consider good and it is based on the astrological calculations.
Significance of Ugadi Pachadi:
“Ugadi pachadi”, a unique dish of six different tastes, which is also the first dish to be eaten by the devotees. Made up of neem buds, chillies, salt, tamarind juice and unripe mango, the six different dishes signifies the different experience in our life like happiness and sorrow one has to face in the coming years.
1. Jaggery taste represents the sweet moments in our life .
2. Bitter taste are the unhappy moments of life. Bitter moments are also apart of life and so it should not be forgotten.
3. Udagi marks the beginning of the mango season. Hence mango represents the surprise element of our life that a person should always be prepared for it .
4. Spicy taste represents the angry moments in life.
5. The salty represents the taste of life. The salty moments are necessary to make our lives interesting.
6. Tamarind taste represents the sour moments of life along with other flavors make our lives worth living.
Legend:
Once upon a time Sage Narada caught in the mystery of Sri Maha Vishnu and he was cursed by Lord Brahma, Narada cursed as he has to became a damsel with a desire to experience the materialistic life. In the process the Damsel marries a king and gives birth to 60 sons. Later,during the course of time the king along with his sons dies in a battle. Then Narada came out of the illusion with Lord Vishnu's mercy and realised that it was the maya of Lord Maha Vishnu. In the memory of Damsel's sons and to give eternity to their names, Lord Maha Vishnu blessed them that the sixty year cycle of Hindu time element would be represented by their names.
Importance of Ugadi:
While Lord Brahma was sleeping an asura Hayagriva emerged from Brahma's nose. Hayagriva stolen the knowledge of Vedas. And then he hid himself deep inside the ocean, thinking that nobody would find him there.
Lord Vishnu who preserves the world thought that Vedas should be survived for next Yugas.There was a king called Manu who was the great devotee of Lord Vishnu, he performed severe penances for Lord Vishnu. one day as he was performing ablutions with river water, a small fish came into his hands and just as he was about to throw the fish back into the river, the fish requested the king to save its life. As a king it was his duty to protect anybody who came to him for help. The king agreed fish request, he put the fish into a jar of water. The fish was growing day by day. The king stared in disbelief as he saw the huge fish stare out of the big vessel. Then king finally carried the fish and ran to the river where he had found the fish and threw the fish into the river.
The fish again asked the king to protect me from the bigger fishes in the river. The fish requested the king that he was afraid of the other bigger fishes which may eat him. Manu carried the fish from one river to another river, but the fish kept getting bigger. Finally he dropped the fish inside the ocean. Looking at the fish Manu realized that it was none other than Lord Vishnu and bowed to fish. Lord Vishnu made a special request to the king.
It is predicted that, the Yuga is about to end in seven days. All living things on the earth will destroy by huge floods. so I want you to build a big ship. Take the seeds of all plants, the male and female of every animal, the seven sages along with their families and Vasuki, (the snake God). To take them all on the ship.Lord Vishnu found Hayagriva in ocean. After a brief and futile struggle, the asura was dead, the vedas imbibed by him went back to Lord Brahma.
Soon the fish came back to the king tied the boat to the fish by using the Vasuki, and the fish guided the ship in sea and kept the ship safe while the storm raged outside.According to the purnas Lord Vishnu restored the Vedas by killing the asuras. It is on this day that the world was began to be created.
Article by
Haritha
