Shakambhari Purnima () is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

festival primarily observed in India in veneration of the goddess

Shakambhari Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. After ...

. It is observed in the month of

Pausha Pausha ( sa, पौष ; hi, पूस ; ta, தை ), also called Paush, Poush, Pausa or Pushya, is the tenth month of the Hindu calendar, corresponding with December/January of the Gregorian calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Pausha ...

, which usually corresponds with January. Shakambari Purnima is the last day in the 8-day long holiday of Shakambari Navaratri.

Legend

Shakambhari is a Hindu goddess of nourishment, a form of

Mahadevi Mahadevi ( sa, महादेवी, ), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, Adi Shakti, and Abhaya Shakti, is the supreme goddess in the Shaktism sect of Hinduism. According to this tradition, all Hindu goddesses are considered to be manifesta ...

who manifested on earth to save the world from a drought and by slaying the

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

who caused it, named Durgama, and restoring the sacred

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

he had seized back to the

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

. According to the ''

Devi Bhagavata Purana The Devi Bhagavata Purana ( sa, देवी भागवतपुराणम्, '), also known as the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavata Purana or simply ''Devi Bhagavatam'', is one of the eighteen Purana, Mahapuranas of ...

'', the goddess answered the plea of the Brahmins by producing vegetative products from her own form to feed all the creatures of the earth. She is described to watch over beings to ensure that they are not short of food and water, as well as punishing those who commit sins and evil.

Practices

Puja is performed for the goddess both at the houses of adherents and at temples on this occasion. They wake up early, take an auspicious bath, and offer special prayers. A murti of the goddess is venerated with the

arati ''Arti'' (Sanskrit: Ārātrika, Hindi: Ārtī) is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, often part of '' puja'', in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. ''Arti(s)'' also refers to the songs sung in praise of the d ...

ceremony, with

diyas Zarina Diyas ( kk, Зари́на Ди́ас; born 18 October 1993) is a Kazakh professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as No. 31 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Diyas has won one WTA singles title, at the ...

lighted and flowers and sweets ritually offered to the deity. Scriptures such as the Durga Chalisa might be recited. The Shakambhari Devi Temple of the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh venerates the goddess on this occasion.

References

{{HinduFestivals Hindu festivals Religious festivals in India Observances held on the full moon