Samba Dashami is a festival unique to the state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the

Shukla Paksha Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the '' purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, ...

of Pausha Māsa or waxing phase of moon in the month of Pausha (December – January) as per traditional Odia calendar. This festival is especially celebrated in the eastern part of Odisha.

Tradition

According to legend,

Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, son of Lord

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, was afflicted by

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

and was cured by the Sun God

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

after 12 years of penance near

Konark Konark is a medium-sized town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple, Sun Temple, also ...

. On this day, mothers pray to

for the health of their children.

Rituals

On the day of Samba Dashami, the women in the family wake before sunrise. After bathing they prepare dishes such as ''khichdi'', Odia ''

puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

'', and ''ghadghadia tarkari'' (a curry), and offer them to Surya at sunrise. One of the specific characters of this ritual is variety of individual food item is offered to Sun God in the name of each member of the family, especially children. Once the food items have been offered to the Surya, the women prepare a set of cake-like dishes called ''pitha'' (cake), which includes ''manda pitha'', ''kakara pitha'', ''poda pitha'', ''arisha pitha'', ''biri laddoo'', ''makar chaula'', ''chhenaguda'', ''dhanu muaan'', ''khiri'', ''rasagulla'', ''jhilli'', ''chhenagaja'', and sweet curd. At noon, a bowl of

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

water with

betel Betel (''Piper betle'') is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their lea ...

in it is taken to ''chaunra mula'' (a small temple-like structure with a

tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulasi'' or ''tulsi'' (), is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is widely cultivated throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. It is native to tropical and subtropical r ...

plant overhead). All the cooked food is served on plates. The women in the family view Surya through the bowl of turmeric water and offer all the dishes to Surya. They read the legend of ''Samba Dasami Brata Katha'' and pray for the well-being of all family members. In the evening, another '' puja'' is observed as a part of the Samba Dashami ritual. This is the ''

Mahakala Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a ''Dharmapala, Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma") and a Wrathful deities, wrathful manifestation of a The Buddha, Buddha, while in Hindu ...

puja'', in which special ''budha chakuli'' is offered to

Yama Yama (), also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharm ...

References

External links

Samba Dashami 2022 date in Odisha – Puja Dedicated to Surya
at Hindu Blog
Rituals of Samba Dashami and Foods – Samba Dashami
{{Odia culture Festivals in Odisha Surya Krishna

Tradition

Rituals

See also

References

External links