According to the Hindu calendar, the full moon of Phalguna month is known as Phalguna Purnima. This day has great divine, social and cultural significance in Hinduism. Fasting is observed on this very day from sunrise to sun set until the moon beams flood the earth. According to religious beliefs, those who keep fast on Phalgun Purnima get the special blessings of Lord Vishnu and all the sufferings of their lives come to an end. Phalgun Purnima hints at the very end of the Hindu calendar, and mark the beginning of a new year. Let us know when Phalgun Purnima 2023 falls this year, all about its importance, the fasting rituals and worship method.
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Purnima or full moon is always considered to be the most auspicious day and is celebrated all over India by various names like Poonam, Purnima and Poornamasi etc. Most of the devotees go for a fast on this very auspicious occasion and worship with utmost devotion Lord Vishnu. Purnima is derived from Sanskrit meaning full moon. This full moon will shine in the sky at the end of Shukla Paksha in the month of Phalguna, the very last month of the Hindu calendar year.
Phalgun Purnima 2023 Date and Auspicious Time
Phalgun Purnima 2023 falls on Tuesday, 07 March 2023.
The date starts on 06 March 2023 from 16:17 and ends on 07 March 2023 at 18:09.
Meaning and Significance of the Purnima
The full moon days of the Hindu calendar are known as Poornima in India. But in states of India it is called in certain other names too. According to the Hindu calendar, the full moons of the year are very important, as full moon days mark important festivals or anniversaries in the calendar. In addition to festival and anniversaries, many families traditionally go for fasting on this particular day. Again the full moon day is considered very auspicious for performing the Satya Narayan Puja. One of the most important and popular Hindu festivals, Holi is celebrated in the country with pomp and grandeur on Phalguna Purnima. This day marks the Lakshmi Jayanti too. Lakshmi is regarded as the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.
Worship Method and Significance
Phalgun Purnima Puja and Fasting Method are elaborated below for the readers’ perusal.
Devotees, who go for fasting on Phalguna Purnima with utmost devotion and rituals, seldom face any problem for observing the fast on the very day; the person obtains special blessings of Lord Vishnu. Lord Narasimha, considered to be the fourth incarnation of Lord Sri Vishnu, is worshiped on the particular day of the Purnima. It is believed too that worshiping Lord Narasimha, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi on this auspicious day brings in human life the grandeur of health, wealth and prosperity at the household. Therefore, to appease Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi and to be blessed by them the rituals of worshipping them and going for fasting are mentioned on the particular day of Phalguna Purnima.
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Now we shall discuss how to be ready for the worshipping of Lord Vishnu. The person who is going to fast should get up early in the morning and take holy at any river or in a tank. It is better to take bath in water sprinkling the Ganga water in it. After bathing the person should wear clean clothes and start worshipping Lord Vishnu.
After worshipping one should take a pledge to keep fast from sunrise to dusk until the moon rises in the sky.
The next action is to open the fast after the moon is up in the sky in the evening.
The thoughts should be positive on this day and it should be kept in mind that the devotee should never hurt the feelings of a particular person.
Holika Puja Method on Phalguna Purnima 2023
Holika Dahan is a special holy deed done to symbolize the victory of good over evil. This auspicious occasion is going to be celebrated on Phalguna Purnima 2023 and is a very important occasion for Hindus all over the globe. Let us cast a glance at the Holika Puja method on Phalguna Purnima.
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One should collect dry cow dung and dry wood in an open place.
One should place the below mentioned items in a dish and offer them to Holika Mata. The things are rice, kumkum, turmeric, gulal, henna, roli, a handful of wheat, a coconut, laccha cotton, a lotus along with some other flowers and garlands.
Now it is the ideal thing to light a fire of wood and cow dung. It is known as Holika Dahan. Next time the devotee should chant the mantras of Lord Narasimha-
ॠउगà¥à¤°à¤‚ वीरं महाविषà¥à¤£à¥à¤‚ जà¥à¤µà¤²à¤¨à¥à¤¤à¤‚ सरà¥à¤µà¤¤à¥‹à¤®à¥à¤–मॠ।
नृसिंहं à¤à¥€à¤·à¤£à¤‚ à¤à¤¦à¥à¤°à¤‚ मृतà¥à¤¯à¥à¤®à¥ƒà¤¤à¥à¤¯à¥à¤‚ नमामà¥à¤¯à¤¹à¤®à¥
“O wrathful and valiant Lord Vishnu, your flames and heat spread in all four directions”.
O Narasimhadeva Prabhu, your face is omnipresent, you are the Yama of death and I surrender before you”
Story Behind the Phalguna Purnima
In the Vishnu Purana the story is described in details. The story in brief is told below.
Thousands of years ago, during the period of Satyuga, the kingdom of the demons was ruled by King Hiranyakashyap. The cruel demon king made everyone’s life miserable. On the earth there was a great chaos. He caused a lot of trouble in the life of everyone. He became very arrogant as he received a boon from Lord Brahma after long years of penance and meditation.
Out of sheer confidence he tried to create the earth nothing but a hell. The mystery behind his overconfidence was that Hiranyakashyap would never be killed by neither by a man nor woman nor animal nor even a bird. He would be killed neither by day nor by night, nor with any divine weapon nor with hand weapon, neither inside his palace nor outside his palace and neither by any god nor by any demon.
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Thus having received the boon he became immortal and began to think himself to be a man who can never be slain. He thought him much alike Lord Vishnu and ordered everyone in his kingdom to stop worshiping Lord Vishnu. He demanded that instead of Vishnu he should be worshipped by all his subjects. He who would worship Lord Vishnu must be killed by all means. The Fear of Hiranyakashyap got the better of everyone. They began worshipping him out of the fear of death. However,
Hiranyakashyap’s own son, Prahlad was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and he continued to worship Lord Vishnu paying o heed to his father’s orders. This enraged Hiranyakashyap and he decided to kill his own son. Nevertheless, Prahlad did not bother about his father’s orders and continued to worship Lord Vishnu chanting the name of Hari all the way.
Hiranyakashyap tried to have Prahlad killed by all means but every time Lord Vishnu saved him. Then Hiranyakashyap approached his sister, Holika to kill Prahlad.
On the other hand Holika also obtained a divine boon that made her uninflammable to fire. Hiranyakashyap asked her to place Prahlad on her lap and sit on a pile of burning wood. He actually wanted to burn Prahlad alive. But when Prahlad was placed on her lap he survived and Hiranyakashyap’s sister, Holika was burnt alive in fire. Since then Holika Dahan has been celebrated by devotees all over India.
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The moment every attempt of him failed, Hiranyakashyap tried to kill Prahlad himself and asked him to call his Dear Lord Vishnu to save him. Just at the very moment he was going to kill him, Lord Narasimha, Lord Shri Vishnu’s incarnation, emerged out of a pillar. Lord Vishnu took this incarnation to kill Hiranyakashyap not to demean the boon of Lord Brahma.
Lord Narasimha killed him with his sharp claws, which were not weapons at all. Since then Lord Narasimha and Lord Shri Vishnu are worshipped on the day of the Phalguna Purnima.
Significance of Phalguna Purnima Fasting
Devotees, who go for the fast along with the ritual of Holika Dahan, with utmost devotion and following rituals, can never face any troubles in life. Moreover, such people can easily win the grace of Lord Vishnu.
To Conclude
In the very conclusion, we suggest every devotee to observe a fast on this Holy day and go on worshipping Lord Shri Vishnu with utmost devotion. We hope prayers coming out from the very core of the hearts of the devotees must reach the Lord and he will surely shower His grace on all. We all have come to know that the festival of Holika Dahan commemorates the triumph of good over evil and it is a very significant event for Hindus living at home and abroad.
In the honor of Lord Narsimha let us chant the following mantra:
“Om Nrisimhaye vidmahe vajranakhaya dhimahi tan no simhah Prachodayat
Vajra nakhaya vidmahe tikshna damstraya dhimahi tan no narasimhah Prachodayat”
We all hope for the best and wish every reader of this article Happy Phalguna Purnima and at the same time Happy Holi.
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