Vasant Panchami, also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which take place forty days later. The Vasant Utsava (festival) on Panchami is celebrated forty days before spring, because any season's transition period is 40 days, and after that, the season comes into full bloom.
Goddess Saraswati, Goddess of knowledge. This print from the Ravi Varma Press derived from a painting by Raja Ravi Varma.
Haate Khori is considered to be a holy start to a child's journey of education.
Goddess Saraswati dressed in a yellow sari on Vasant Panchami, Kolkata. She sits in a swing, holding a Veena, with books in one corner.
Vasant Panchami, in some places, celebrates the Hindu god of love Kama (left) with Rati, shown above at the Khajuraho temple.
Saraswati, also spelled as Sarasvati, is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, flowing water, abundance and wealth, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. She is a pan-Indian deity, also revered in Jainism and Buddhism.
Painting of Saraswati by Raja Ravi Varma
Saraswati on a Lotus throne playing veena, sandalwood, Mysore, 18th century CE.
19th century South Indian painting of Raja-Matangi with veena and parrot.
Depiction of Saraswati from a market in Bengal (19th century, pre-1895 CE). The British Library curator's summary states, "Sarasvati, the goddess of learning and knowledge, is seated on the banks of a river. Her feet rest on a lotus flower, a palm leaf manuscript to represent the vedas is next to her and she holds a vina. Her mount, a swan, is positioned nearby."
