A full-moon night is an absolute pleasure to look at but once in a year comes the night, when the moon sparkles our lives with blessings. The day is very commonly known as Sharad Poornima. Every religion narrates a different story of Sharad Poornima but there are a few well-known facts that make this full-moon night one of its kind.
Rituals state that Kheer (an Indian milk dessert) should be kept in the moonlight for the whole night and can be eaten later that morning. However, this night isn’t only about rituals, it’s about creating memories with family, it’s about young members trying to steal a sip, and never to forget about the strong faith and vrat of female members on this day. Search the gallery of your memories and tell us about your best moments of Sharad Poornima in the comment section below.
There are 3 distinct reasons for celebrating this night, and they are as follows:
Shree Krishna’s Maharaas
According to scriptures, it was on the night of Sharad Purnima, Shree Krishna bestowed highest form of bliss to deserving souls. The Srimad Bhagavatham describes the love of Gopi’s towards Shri Krishna. This makes the night special for all Shree Krishna devotees too.
16 Forms Of The Moon
Indian mythology suggests that the moon is the only planets capable of all 16 forms that are possessed by none of the others, not even sun. Sharad Poornima is extraordinary because only once in a year moonlight possesses in its complete form withal 16 forms. Here is list of all 16 art forms of moon: vichar (thought), saundarya (beauty) , swasthata (health), ichchapurti (fulfilment of wish), vidhya (education), tej (inner shine), shanti (peace), kirti (glory), prakash (light), dhan (wealth), prem (love), sthayitwa (stability), karmashilta (ability to work), such (happiness). This may seem like a myth, but traces of truth have been found by scientists too. Not only devotees but also medical science believes that the pure moonlight of this night can cure a lot of diseases.
Moon is also believed to indicate feelings of a person in astrology or horoscope reading. This is because of the repetitive change in the visible size of the moon. A human being only possesses 5 to 8 art forms but only a master can control all in a balanced way. Every human has a moon inside him and that’s why Sharad Poornima is understood to shine the art forms in a human.
Kojagiri Poornima
Sharad Poornima has 3 more names in different cultures i.e., Kumar Poornima, Navanna Poornima and Kojagiri Poornima. Kojagiri Poornima is the ending puja of Kojagari vrat kept for goddess Lakshmi for wealth and prosperity. Devotees worship goddess Lakshmi while observing fast in the daylight and break the fast at the end of the day by eating kheer, which is offered to moon-god first.
According to Puranas, this night, the goddess Lakshmi herself takes rounds of Earth to check the actions of human beings. And that is why; this vrat is kept for an entire day where devotees only consume fluids.
At the night of Sharad Poornima, devotees get together to celebrate the night with devotional songs, playing games and dancing under the moonlight. In Orissa, the ritual is a bit different. On the next day, unmarried girls perform a puja known as ‘Janhi Osa’ before the sunrise and keep a fast throughout the day.
As the Prasad of dedication and faith, each devotee gets to eat a bowl of kheer which turns to be actually very delicious.
These were the three major reasons, about why Sharad Purnima is an important festival amongst many cultures in India. Every religion has its own believes and stories but one thing is for sure, that this night, someone from heaven spreads out his blessings, which in Hindi is believed to be, ‘Amrat Dhara’. Enjoy every single moment of this night with your folks, because even God knows that how busy you are in daylight!
