Ratha Saptami

Ratha Saptami or Magha Saptami occurs in the month of Magh as per the lunar calendar. Ratha Saptami occurs on the seventh day of the waxing phase of the moon or on the sukla paksha Saptami of the Magh Month.Ratha is a Sanskrit word which means Chariot.

Saptami means the seven. Since on the day of Magh Saptami it is believed that the sun god would turn his chariot in the definitive North direction this day is popular by the name of Ratha Saptami. It also marks the birth of Surya and hence celebrated as Surya Jayanti.

Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season. For most Indian farmers, it is an auspicious beginning of the New Year. The festival is observed by all Hindus in their houses and in innumerable temples dedicated to Surya, across India.

SIGNIFICANCE :

It is believed that after the sun entered the Northern Hemisphere or Uttarayana the Chariot of Sun God is turned to a definitive North on Ratha Saptami by the Charioteer Aruna. The Chariot is drawn by seven white horses which represent the seven colours of the Rainbow. These horses also represent the seven days of the week. There are 12 wheels to the chariot and represent the 12 months of the year.

Sun is the seventh Manu and the present Manvantara is being called by his name as Vaivasva manvantra.

Ratha Saptami also marks the gradual increase in temperature across South India and awaits the arrival of spring, which is later heralded by the festival of Ugadi or the Hindu lunar New Year day in the month of Chaitra.

Ratha Saptami also marks the birth of Surya to sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi and hence celebrated as Surya Jayanti.

Legends :

It is believed that Lord Rama worshipped Sun god by reciting Aditya Hrudayam before killing Ravana.

Karna the warrior of Maha Bharata was born to Kunti Devi due to sun worship.

Yudishtar the elder of the Pandavas got a Akshaya bowl after worshipping Sun god.

Lord Hanuman learnt Nava Vyakarna from Sun God and Sun God is Lord Hanumans Guru.

Sathrajit was given a diamond Semanthaka mani  a diamond which would give 8 Kgs of Gold per day by Sun God as a result of worshipping the Sun god.

Bhishma Pitamaha the great warrior of Maha Bharata waited for this day and died on the next day after Ratha Saptami.

Observances :

 Argyam or (Tharpanam) (water held in the palms) is offered to the Sun God on this day while chanting hymns are performed to the Sun God. It also involves doing a puja with the ritual Naivedhya (food offering to God), and offering of flowers and fruits. Important prayers offered to the Sun god on this occasion are the Adityahridayam, Gayathri, Suryashtakam, Surya Sahasram namam. The preferred time for the pooja is within one hour after sunrise.

 In some of the important Vaishnavite temples such as the Tirumala, Srirangam and Melukote, Ratha Saptami is one of the important festivals of the year.

In Tirumala

On Ratha sapthami a one-day Brahmotsavam is held in Tirumala.On this day, the presiding deity of Lord Malayappa Swamy along with his divine consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi are taken to a procession in Thiru Mada streets in Tirumala. The deities carried out in a jubilant procession around the Thiru mada streets encircling the holy Shrine of Balaji on seven different vahanams(sapthami=seven) .Due to this reason the day of RathaSapthami is called as "Mini-Brahmotsavam" in Tirumala.The day starts with 'Surya prabha vahanam' at early morning followed by Sesha, Garuda, Hanumantha, Kalpavriksha, sarvabhoopala vahanams respectively.The day is ended with the Chandra prabha vahanam.

2016 Date : 14^th Feb, Sunday.