Rishi Panchami is the festival celebrated in the name of seven avatars of Lord Vishnu who was responsible to impart education to the human race. The seven avatars of Lord Vishnu is known as Sapta Rishi who were basically created by the Lord Vishnu. The Hindu Ved specified this day as a Panchami tithi which is a bright phase of the lunar cycle and festival is always celebrated two days after the Teej in honor of seven sages.
Meanwhile, along with the seven avatars, the nine planets(Navagrahas Surya, Chandra, Buddh, Shukr, Shani, Mangal, Brihaspati, Rahu and Ketu in Sanskrit) and the Lord Arundhati are worshipped.
The Seven Sages or Sapta Rishi
Hindu mythology describes Sapta rishi as the superior and pure soul whose lives were devoted to the welfare of human civilization. They were sent by the Lord Vishnu with divine knowledge and wisdom and their objective of life were to share the knowledge between humans.
The name of seven sages are; Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Vishvamitra, Gautama Maharishi, Jamadagni, and Vashishtha. The Hindus show respect, appreciation, and gratitude on this day for the great deeds of those ancient Rishis, who dedicated their lives to the greater good of the society and humanity.
Related Article: Tradition of Teej
Rituals On Rishi Panchami
The common thing in most of the Hindu festivals is fasting and worshipping. However, on this day, women and men do fasting to show their devotion therefore Rishi Panchami is considered as an auspicious festival where devotees performed puja(worshipping) according to Tithi. Taking a holy bath at a local religious river is very relevant on this day. Devotees give panchamrit to idols of Sapta-Rishi after dipping in the river.
Furthermore, the worshippers then add the sandalwood and vermillion or tiak on their forehead. Then after The Sapt Rishis were worshipped by both yagyopaviton and naivedya along with mantras chanting. On Rishi Panchami day Hindus put on fresh clothes after taking a morning shower. After that, they Create a square-shaped illustration (Mandal) at a clean spot in their home using haldi, kumkum, and roli.
Navagraha And Arundathi
As we told you earlier Rishi Panchami is not only about worshipping Seven Sages, on this day people also worship Navagraha and Arundathi. For instance, Navagraha is the Sanskrit language which refers to nine planets. Hindu mythology describes the position of nine planets as heavenly bodies that directly influence human life and Earth’s living beings.
However, Arundathi is the wife of the sage Vashistha, one of the seven sages (Saptarshi). In the Vedic and Puranic literature, she is regarded as the epitome of chastity, conjugal bliss, and wifely devotion. Meanwhile, in post-Puranic epic poems in Sanskrit and Hindi, she has been described as “chaste and revered” and with a character that is “unblemished, inspiring, and worthy of imitation.
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