Hoysala Karnatkas - Origin & Growth - www.hoysalakarnatakaru.org

DATE IN 2004 -05

DETAILS OF THE HABBA

PANCHANGA-PRAKARA-TITHI

UGAADI - SHREE PAARTHIVA SAMVATSARA

Ugadi literally means starting of the New Year.It is also the entry of "Vasantha Rutu".Hence it is time of good mood and hence festivity season.This festival is mentioned andhIghlighted in Atharvana Veda and Mahabharata. Today is the day on which Lord Ramastarted ruling his kingdom.The day of this celebration is expressed by hoisting flags onthe houses. (Gudi padwa - Gudi means flag in Marathi). On this day our Shalivahanashake started in 78 AD. This was the period when invaders Shakas were driven out of our lands by Shalivahana. On this day people get up early in the morning, take Oil-bathWear new clothes, Perform pooje and consume specially Bevu-Bella. By consuming Bevu-Bella, we teach our youngsters the concept of Sukha-Dukkha in human life.While consuming we recite a shloka..Shathaayu vajra dhehaya sarva sampath karaayacha,SarvaarisTha vinaashaaya, nimbasya dhaLa BHakshaNAm. Other factors are, eatingHoLIge - paayasa,paying respects to elders,and Reading of panchaanga.

Ugaadi is kla-paksha Prathipath (Prathami) dhina.

On this day we all remember the Maryaadha Purushottama Lord Rama. He is the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. After performing pooje, Kosambari-panaka is shared among relatives and friends. On this day we regard the virtues of Thyaaga, Bhratru-vathsalya, Friendship, Relations, Dedication etc.

Raamanavami is celebrated on Chaitra Shukla-paksha-Navami.

This habba is recognised by its unique tradition. On this day after the morning pooje Brahmins are invited and 'Daana" is made of Umbrella,Water-filled kalasha, Clothes, Foot-wear, Beesanige, Bella and Dakshine. Traditionally people read 'Aksahya Tadhigey Mahatme' kathe. This is a very auspicious day and hence people perform important happenings like 'Gruha-pravesha', Marriage etc. Incidentally many important persons were born on this day like, Saint Basavanna, Gurunanakji, and Chatrapati Shivaji.

Akshaya Tadhigey is performed on Vaishakha-shukla-paksha-trutheeya.

On this day we remember our Adi-guru Shankarachaarya. ( Readers are requested to send in more details on this )

Observed on Vaishakha-shukla paksha -Panchami.

NARASIMHA JAYANTHI
(CHANDRAMANA)

On this day Laksmi and Narasimha are worshipped. The Mantapa is made and a poorna-kumbha on wheat grains is established alongwith patras and flowers.

Observed on Vaishakha-shukla paksha Chaturdhashi

(Readers are requested to send details)

Jyestha poornime Jyestha

Lord Vishnu goes into a long four month 'akhanda-nidra' from this day. These four months are observed as 'chaturmaasa' by saints, by staying in one place. Ekadashi is a ' upavasa-day' for practising controls in terms of all our organs, desires and needs. It is a day for cleansing our systems, being with goodness, and learning good things and being in the thought of God. The importance of observing this ekadashi is for regreting the sins committed by us.

Ashada shukla paksha ekadashi

This is also called as Bheemeshwara Vratha, Pathisanjeevini jyothi stanbha or Gandana pooje. This vratha is performed by married ladies and unmarried girls also. This vratha is performed for nine years and uDhyapane is made. On this day, "hosthilu" is worshipped. On this day sisters ask for protection from their brothers, by following a ritual where the brother breaks kadabus kept at the side of the entry of door, with his Right elbow. Sisters then give present to brothers. Unmarried girls light up a lamp during the afternoon and pray for better future from the deepalakshmi. On this day people feed cows with rice and bella. They do gaupooje. Married women pray for a happy married life.

This habba is performed on Ashadha-krishna paksha-Amaavaasye.

Shree Mangala Gowri Vrata is performed by newly married girls, on the five tuesdays of Shravana maasa, for the first five years after marriage. They give baagina of mangala -dravyaas to their mothers. The pooja place is cleaned and decorated with rangavalli. A wooden plank(maNe) is kept on it, with one blouse piece, one mirror and two blouse pieces on either side of mirror for decoration, 16 betel leaves, 32 adike and kobbari gitaku, The Gauri image is made by arishina and kept in a plate, and pooje is performed. Kosambari and thambittu are prepared for distribution to all. They prepare kappu for the eyes, by smearing juice of betel leaves on a moguchekai made of iron and heating it over a deepa. This kappu is offered to suhasinis and also for themselves. By performing this pooja, people aspire for dheergha-saumangalya, children and progress.

This Vrata is performed on all Tuesdays of Shravana Maasa.

Nagapanchami pooje is performed mainly by women seeking for good Santaana andlongevity in their married life with her husbands. The house is cleaned early in themorning and decorated with Rangavalli. .This poojeis performed with atmost 'madee'. Rangavalli of Sarpa is drawn in the house and mud from thehuttha is brought to make Nagappa's aakaara and worshipped with Raw milk and Thuppa. Only raw-food items are presented as naivedya like, Chigali, Thambittu, KadalekaLu,Kaare-haNNu and other fruits. Sisters apply raw milk and thuppa on shoulders and Navel of their brothers This is also called as Bennu-habba. Generally the food made are Huggi, Paayasa and Hui-kadabu. Outside the home ladies go to 'Huttha' and do Naga-Pooje by decorating with Arishina-Kumkuma-Maalya.

Nagapanchami is performed on Shravana-Shukla paksha-panchami.

(Readers are requested to contribute details) Generally, mothers of male children prepare 4 varieties of anna, and give Baagina to other ladies who have male children.

This Vrata is performed on Sravana - shukla paksha shasTHi.

VARAMAHALAKSHMI
VRATA

People erect colourful mantapa, with colourful rangavalli, drawing of ashTadhaLa - Padma and place vigraha of Varamahalakshmi on a kalasha, and perform shoDashopachara pooje. They prepare many types of food items. After the pooje, they give dhaana and also pay respect to ladies. This pooja is basically performed with a desire of praying to God to maintain good wealth in the house.

This vrata is performed on the Friday before the Shravana maasa poornima .If Shravana poornima falls on a Friday,then it is performed on Shravana shuklapoornima Friday.

On this day, people change their janivaara, either in their homes or alongwith other brahmins in a sacred place like temple, in a samoohika pattern.

On this day, people change their janivaara, either inside their homes or alongwith othe rbrahmins in a sacred place like temple, in a samoohika pattern.

Bodhayana-Kathyayana on 29th, Thythireeya on 30th and Gayatri prathipath on 30th.

SRI KRISHNA
JANMASHTAMI

People observe upavaasa till the vratha is over. Some HK persons who have adopted Bhaagwatha sampradaaya, celebrate this as a habba and pooje is performed with tulasi leaves.

This vratha is performed on Shravana Krishna Paksha ashtami.

On this day, married women, after bath, wear new/grand clothes and dress up the younggirls of the family. Then they do the 'sthapana' of either jalagauri or arishinadagauri. Asthis pooje is to be performed with 'suchi' and 'shraddhe', the ladies go to temples or to any other house, where the pooje is performed according to set procedures. The Gauri isdecorated with garlands, decorations made of cotton and they get their 'gauridaara' tied to their right wrists, as blessings of gauri. Gauri baaginas are exchanged between ladies and they give 'vaayanadaana' to the purohit. 'tavaru maneyavaru' send gauri habbadha - mangaladravya to the married girls of their family. Some send money as representation of mangaladravya. This good practice remains unchanged and keeps people closer. Newly married girls give 16-jothe baagina to sumangalis and obtain their blessings. One baagina is kept forGauramma also. Main food items are Kaayee-hoLige and huggi.

VARASIDDHIVINAYAKA
VRATHA

This is one pooje which all our HK people with great interest and respect. The idol of Lord Ganesha is kept in the main room of the house and beautiful decorations are made.This pooje is performed, keeping divinity in mind. This is one pooje where everyone in the family participates actively. Lord Ganesha is omnipresent, and is worshipped by young boysfor education, by yogis for salvation, by troubled people for smooth life and so on. The menand boys in the family take bath early in the morning, and perform pooje either by followingthe book, or following the audio cassette, or by someone who has the knowledge and practice of the pooje. In some houses, purohits are called while in some, the elders performthe pooje. Lord Ganesha is worshipped seeking good education, good knowledge, wisdom, mastery in any art, initiation of any work, and so on. It is believed that Lord Ganesha takesno time to bless his ardent bhaktas in this Kalyug. The idol of Ganesha can be made of earth, or silver. Pooje is performed under upavasa, with patra pooje, pushpa pooje, and dhoorvepooje. Decorations are made with flowers, fruits, mantapa, lighting, etc. This decoration is a scope for showing one's creativity also. Main food items are modaka, panchakajjaya, karigadabu, chakkali, tengoLu, many types of laddoos, etc. Immersion of the idol is alsoa memorable family and social function. Reading of shyamanthopakhyana story is a tradition which needs to be passed on to the younger generation. It is believed that by listening to this story, all false allegations will disappear. An important point here is thatone should invite many relatives and friends to home, on this day, to give a touch of asocial gathering. (Readers are invited to give more details)

This is also called as Anantha Chaturdashi, and is observed by a section of HK community.The pooja is followed by shoDashopachara pooje, Ganapati pooje, Yamuna pooje and thenthe vratha is performed. In this pooja, two coconuts are decorated on two kalashas, and on the side it is covered by dharbe. This vratha is to be performed for 13 years, and udhyapane is to be done, on 14th year. 14 types of flowers, patras, lamps and bhakshya each;as well as 28 athirasas are to be given as daana to 14 brahmins. Ladies have to tie a thread, which has got 14 knots, on their right wrist. Next day, after the regular pooje, lunch and evening mangalarti, visarjane needs to be done. People perform this vratha, aspiring ashtaishwarya, good children and fame.

On this day, we remember our elders, who are no more with us physically, but have been therein shaping our present lives. They have taken much more pain than us to bring us up and make our society worth living. This is a 'tarpana-giving' day and the last one in the pitrupaksha. The respect is given by way of 'annapinda' and/or 'water-tarpana' and/ortila-tarpana'. People undertake 'daana' of things like fruits, clothes, food, etc. on this day.

These are the nine days (sharannavaratra) where 'devi/shakti' is worshipped. There are manydevis like Bhramari, Shakambari, KaaLi, Nandadevi, Durga, who are all worshipped. Thecelebration starts from Ashwayuja - shukla paksha padya to navami. Some do ramayana parayana, navagraha japa, surya namaskara, surya sahasranama, vishnu sahasranama, shiva sahasranama, srilalita sahasranama, etc. Bombe-pooje is observed, more popularly inMysore area, as a respect to the king. They would display all types of dolls, toys, includingdolls of king and queen. Young children are invited in the evening to show the bombe decoration and for singing songs. They also distribute bombe-baagina to children.Some invite a brahmin couple for lunch, everyday.

Saraswati pooje is performed in moola nakshatra. Along with the photo/idol of Saraswati devi, books are also worshipped. This pooje is performed aspiring knowledge and wisdom.

On this day, Durga pooje is performed. Sumangalis are invited for arishina-kumkuma. Fooditems like aambode and mosaranna are prepared. (Readers are invited to give more details)

On this day, all vehicles and weapons are cleaned and decorated with flowers. The pooje isperformed on vehicles for the safety of the vehicles and people. Shop keepers, factory owners or any one who is in touch with machinery in their day-to-day life, clean up their premises and perform pooja on their machinery.

This is a day which represents victory. On this day, Lord Rama left for Ayodhya, this daythe Pandavas completed their agnaatavaasa, and took their weapons from the shami treeand distributed banni. This day also marked the beginning of the Vijayanagara empire.

This festivity season is to respect the commitment given by Lord Krishna to Bhoodevi thather son Narakasura, who was killed by him, will be remembered by people once a year.On this day, Narakasura was killed and 'chaturdashi' the daughter of Twashtra was released from the clutches of Narakasura, by Lord Krishna. This is the day of knowledge, wisdom andenlightenment; this is why on the night of trayodashi, a lamp is lit in front of the house and the 'hande' is cleaned, shined and decorated with kemmaNNu and suNNa. Kerakas are kept near all doors (cowdung in shape of small pillar with arishina, kumkuma, chendu flower). Theyrepresent dwarapalakas. On this day, every one at home takes an oil bath. Importance to bathis given so as to educate people and children that cleanliness is essential. Also on thisday, 'aarti' is done to each and everyone in the family, to show how important they are tothe family and to indicate that 'Let there be light in their lives'.

Today, DHANALAKSHMI pooje is performed in the evening. Hosa-Aliya is invited to celebrate deepawali as a tradition and gifts are given to him. Ashtadalapadma rangavalli is put in front of God.

Balindra pooje is performed (Lord Vishnu came as an incarnation of vama and pushed balichakravarthi to patala and appreciating the righteousness of bali, he gave bali the kingdom of patala, on this day), during godhuli time. During the day time, kuladevta poojais performed and people wear new clothes and have habbada oota. In the evening, 'dhana-chinnhe' is made out of cowdung and the area is decorated with rangavalli and flowers.Balindra pooje is performed with kalashapooje, with milk and butter. Some people bringflowers of yellu-gida and spread them in each room of their house, inviting wealth. After the evening, the whole house including tulasi-katte is decorated with deepas. Every one participates in firing crackers, and the whole atmosphere is filled with festivity for three days.Generally, people go back to their families, during deepawali for enjoying the festival.

On this day of 'sankramana' Lord Suryanarayana enter makara rashi, and the period Uttarayanastarts. This is a day of celebration, as from this day, devtas will have daylight and hence we put on new clothes and 'ELLU' is distributed by going to each other's houses. (ELLU consistsof white ellu, kobbari pieces, white bella, hurigadale, roasted & split kadalekai beeja.) Along withthis, kabbu and sakkare achchu, coins and elachi/ borey hannu packed in a nice give-away container is distributed. During the evening, 'drushti' is taken out of young children,with black ellu after doing arati to them. Some follow the tradition of giving tarpana on this day. In this festival, huggi is made.

On this day, Lord Surya is worshipped, as without him, no human being would have survived till this day. A vessel of milk is kept in sunlight over a drawing of a ' ratha' in the form of a rangavalli in front of the house, or the tulasi katte. While taking bath, seven ekka leaves are kept on head and both arms. This ratha is worshipped with flowers, chandana, dhoopa, deepa and naivedya. We also thank surya for giving warmth to us as we are coming out of the winter season.

(Readers are invited to give more details)

On this day, Lord Ishwara is worshipped by way of upavasa, jaagarane, and sahasranama pooje, etc. No cooked food is eaten. People go to Shiva temple to pay their respects.

Though this is a national festival, HK readers are requested to fill in specific details available,with respect to HK community, in this habba.