In the holiest of months that is Kartika thoughts of divine beneficence swell up in the minds of believers and infuse in them the energy to cleanse the soul of all earthly impurities, writes Himanshu Guru
The month of Kartika is regarded as the holiest of all months by Hindus. The month witnesses a number of festivals including the Kartika purnima, chat puja, Kartika puja, Dev-Dipawali, Guru Nanak Jayanti etc. In fact each day of the month has its specific religious importance. Performing different rituals in the month is supposed to bestow on one wealth, prosperity and, above all, salvation. Even one can manage to fight with the chance possibility of an unnatural death, as per Hindu scriptures if the believer follows the sacred precepts of the holy texts.
Legend
The religious importance of the month of Kartika has been described in the ‘Kartika Mahatmya’. Once sage Narada put a query to Lord Brahma as to which was the best month of a year and who is the best deity to worship. Brahma’s instant reply was that the best month of the year is Kartika and the supreme deity to worship is Narayana (Lord Vishnu).
In this month whatever good deeds were performed Bhagavan Vishnu fully accepts it since He is readily available there throughout the month. Sutaji said to the great sages: “The sin-destroying month of Kartik is said to be endowed with divine influence. It is ever so dear to Lord Vishnu and is the bestower of both worldly pleasures and moksha (salvation).”
As per some other texts, the dark fortnight of the month is the most auspicious time to pray to Yama, the lord of death, to avoid an unnatural death and for good health. One should chant ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ and should hear or read ‘Vishnu Sahasranam’ and ‘Gajendra Moksha Paatha’ to get freedom from want, disease, adversity and discontent.
There is an interesting tale from the Padma Purana: In Lord Vishnu’s temple there was a mouse that used to eat the ghee from the extinguished ghee lamps which were offered by devotees. One day when the mouse felt hungry she tried to eat the ghee from a lamp which was still burning. While slurping the ghee from the lamp, the cotton wick got stuck in its teeth. Since the ghee wick had a flame, the mouse started jumping in front of the Lord and died shortly. But Lord Vishnu accepted the jumping of that mouse with a lit ghee wick in her mouth as His aarti. In the end, He gave her liberation, the highest destination.
Rituals in Kartika
‘Snaan’, ‘Daan’, ‘Bhojan’, ‘Vrath’, ‘Japa’, ‘Homa’, ‘Yagna’, ‘Annadaan’ and ‘Abhishek’ are performed by devotees in Kartika month to attain divine blessings. Snana is the holy bathing with the Lord’s prayer in the devotee’s lips. Japa is chanting the holy names of the Lord. It is believed if somebody worships Lord Shri Hari this month, He offers that devotee His own abode.
When it comes to Daan, the offering of lamps is regarded as auspicious. It is said if somebody lights a lamp in the temple of Lord Shri Hari even for a short time in this month his sins are destroyed for millions of ‘kalpas’ (one kalpa equals 1,000 yugas). As per Pushkar Puran, the person who lights the lamp of sesame (til) oil in the name of Lord Shri Hari in the month of Kartik (in the evening) he attains unlimited prosperity, beauty, blessedness and wealth. Also during Kartik month, one should refrain from indulging in sex and should practice Brahmacharya. Again, worship of the basil plant (Tulsi Devi) in Kartika is believed to bestow innumerable virtues.
Habisha
Kartika is the most awaited-time of the year for elderly Oriya widows. They flock to Puri and Bhubaneswar in thousands to live a religious life for the entire month so they can serve their beloved Lord Jagannath and Lord Shiva respectively. They also carry out special rituals associated with the month which is called Habisha. The women who perform Habisha are called ‘habishalis’. Habishalis renounce a number of vegetables such as different varieties of gourds, brinjal, a number of pulses and other leafy vegetables for the whole month. They either partake the offering cooked in Jagannath temple or Lingaraj temple or prepare curries of sweet potato, coconut and only a few pulses allowed to be eaten. They wake up at around 2 am in the morning and bathe in cold water after which they perform the ‘baluka puja’ in an ambience filled with conch music and ‘hulahulis’. They also read out chapters from the Kartika Purana.
Urbashi Pandey, a widow from Sambalpur, who is observing the ritual is staying at a dharamshala in Bhubaneswar. She said, “We believe that divinity takes shelter in the soul of whoever observes Kartika brata. We feel deep joy within and none of the rules of Habisha are hard to observe.”
Holy bathing & Science
Kartikeham Karishyami Pratha Snaanam Janardana,
Preethyartha Tava Devesha Damodara maya sahah
(Janardana! Deveshwara Damodara! I am performing my early morning Snaan to please You and Devi Lakshmi.)
If someone takes the holy dip in the month of Kartika while reciting this chant he is believed to reap immense religious benefit. In Orissa woman take the dip early in the morning. In Hinduism the rituals are fixed keeping in view their scientific value. In this month fresh water flows in the rivers. It is risky to bathe in the months of Shravana and Bhadrapada, but the water settles down by the start of Kartika.
Also the moonlight in this month offers a range of health benefits. In the earlier months rivers absorb the energy from the moon and by bathing in the river one can absorb this energy from the river. Again, Kartika is the coolest month. So, once one bathes in cold water early in the morning, the body’s immunity rises.
Festivals
Tulasi Vivah
Tulasi Vivah is an important happening in the month of Kartika. Women draw religious figures and signs near the basil plant kept in their houses. They draw with ‘Muruja’, a colourful powder made of different hues. White powder is obtained from the grinding of stones, green powder is obtained from dry leaves, black from burnt coconut shells, yellow from the petals of marigold flowers or turmeric, and red from red clay or bricks. The powder is held between the tips of the thumb and the forefinger, and allowed to fall delicately through them to form lines and patterns which are a delight to the eye testifying to the innate skill of the women.
Tulasi Vivah is an auspicious ritual observed in the month of Kartika. It is celebrated in honour of the ceremonial marriage between the holy Tulsi plant and Lord Vishnu or Shri Krishna. Tulsi Vivah is celebrated on the 11th day of the bright lunar fortnight of the month of Kartika.
Chhat puja
Chhat puja, mainly observed by the Bihari community, falls in the month of Kartika. On the occasion believers worship the Sun God standing in knee-deep water. It is observed for sustaining life on earth and for the fulfillment of certain wishes.
Guru Nanak Jayanti
Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru and the founder of the Sikh religion, was born on the full moon day in the month of Kartika. Hence his birthday is celebrated as Guru Nanak Jayanti. On this occasion Sikhs visit Gurdwaras where special programmes are arranged and kirtans are sung. Houses and Gurdwaras are decorated and lit up to add on the occasion. Guru Nanak Jayanti marks the culmination of the Prabhat Pheris, the early morning processions that start from the Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) and then proceed through localities amid the singing of ‘shabads’ (hymns). The celebration also includes the three-day Akhand path, during which the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib is read continuously, from the beginning to end without a break. On the day of the festival, the Guru Granth Sahib is also carried in a procession on a float, decorated with flowers, throughout villages or cities.
