SWARNAGOWRI VRATHAM

                                                        SWARNAGOWRI VRATHAM

   Swarnagowri Vratham and Ganesh Chathurthi are two big festivals of Karnataka,  and they are celebrated with much fanfare.  They fall on the third and fourth days(Thrithiya or Thadigey and Chathurthi or Chauthi)  in the month of Bhadrapada of the Lunar Calander.   Sometimes,  it so happens that thadige  is followed by chauthi on the same day.  Under such circumstances, Gowri  festival and Ganesha festival are observed on the same day.


There are many interesting stories about Swarna Gowri pooja:

Once Parvathi(Gowri) wanted to visit her parents.  But Shiva was reluctant to send her. But Gowri was adamant.  In the end he agreed to send her but on one condition, that she should return on the third day. Gowri  went on giving every possible excuse for coming back soon.  Shiva then reluctantly agreed to send her and bade her to come back positively on the 11th day.  But he had his own doubts. So he sent his son Ganesha on the next day with instructions to bring her back with him.  So it is customary for those who observe both Gowri and Ganesha pooja  to do the Visarjan(sending back Gowri and Ganesha) on the 3rd day or 5th day or 7th day or the 9th or 11th day by making sure that the day is an auspicious one.

Before the Pooja day,  women make elaborate
prepararions to receive Gowri.  A Mandap is kept
in a prominent place in the house and   it is decorated with banana plants,  mango leaves and flowers.A rangoli is drawn in front of the mantap. Another very important ritual is the exchange of MORADA BAGINA  ( kannada) or CHATAALA  VAYANAM (telugu) .  The things which are required for this are a pair of winnows* (bamboo plates   as shown in the picture .  These are open on one end and are used for removing chaff from grains).   They are washed and then smeared with Haldi(turmeric) and then decorated with kunkum.  Then they are filled with the following  items:
1.  Rice, lentils(yellow dal), chana dal(chick pea dal), urad dal(black gram dal), moong dal(green gram dal), wheat or suji(semolina), jaggery, coconut, ripe bananas, betel leaves and nuts,  haldi, kunkum, bangles, a small mirror, a comb, a blouse piece, black beads along with BICHOLE (bichole consists of a piece of dried palm leaf rolled and a pair of small black bangles inserted on this roll) and some  cash(dakshina). These items are kept in one winnow and then covered with another as shown in the picture.

Other items required for the pooja:   Flowers,  garlands made of flowers, a garland made of cotton consisting of 16 rows, turmeric, kunkum, akshatha( rice smeared with turmeric powder) and fruits and coconut, sandal paste, agarbathi(sandal sticks) and camphor. Threads  with 16 knots are prepared, smeared with turmeric and tied with   flowers.  The number of threads depends on the number of women participating in the puja plus one more for Gowri.

As regards the idol,  customs vary in different  households.  An idol made of clay is available in the market.  Some people prefer to have an idol made of turmeric(harishinada gowri )  A plate on which some rice is spread is placed in the center of the Mantap. The idol is placed on this. It is decorated with flowers. Women who observe this vrath wear new clothes after having oil bath.  It is customary for women from other households also to join in performing the pooja.  Recorded tapes  or discs are available for performing the pooja.   It is customary to worship Ganesha before starting the puja.  This is followed by Gowri puja.  The threads are placed on a clean betel leaf  and  with the chanting of manthras puja is performed.  This is called Granthima puja.  After this the women participating in the puja tie the threads to each other.  The women first offer Morada bagina to Gowri and then exchange morada baginas among themselves. They sing songs in praise of Gowri and chant shlokas on Gowri.  This is followed by a sumptuous feast.  The preparations are much the same as for Yugadi with slight variations.

*Winnow--This word is actually a verb meaning to remove chaff from grains.  I  have used it  as a noun.

                 Om Sarva Mangala Mangalye  Shive Sarvartha Sadhike |
                      Sharanye Trayambake Gowri Narayani Namosthuthe ||

                                   ********************