Married women of a family mainly celebrate Varalakshmi Vratam. This is a festival dedicated to women and their families. On the day, women worship Goddess Laxmi and seek her blessings in their life. The celebrity has been celebrated since the days when Goddess Parvati first observed this Vrat for her consort.
Varalakshmi Vratam is a way to pray to Goddess Laxmi and ask the family’s prosperity and longevity. Every year, the vrat is observed between July and August or the second Friday of the full moon.
History of Varalakshmi Vratam Festival
Charumathi was a Brahmin woman who used to live in a village. She was spending her life happily with her husband. Charumathi was extremely devoted to her family: her husband and children. Goddess Laxmi observed the woman, and seeing her devotion, the Goddess appeared in her dream.
Goddess Laxmi told Charumathi the procedure to observe Varalakshmi Vratam and asked her to perform a Pooja on Poornima of Sawan month. Charumathi was feeling so fortunate to get a glimpse of the Goddess. She also told her family members about the dream, and they conducted the puja as told. They also invited the village women to join them, and they all performed the puja like a celebration of a festival.
All women were dressed in new traditional clothes, and they offered different sweets to Goddess Laxmi. Then, they all prayed to Goddess and asked for her blessings.
The Celebration of Varalakshmi Vratam
The festival arrives every year in August, and particularly the second Friday on Poornima. Women begin the preparation one day before the festivity, and they wake up early in the morning. First, women go to take a bath during Brahmamurtham. They then decorate their home with rangoli and kolam.
They bring a pot or Kalash, and they begin to decorate it and fill it. Everyone draws a Swastik symbol on their pot. The bronze pot is also smeared with sandalwood paste and kept in the puja room. People fill this pot with five different leaves, water, coins, raw rice, and beetle nut. They also include a mirror, turmeric, small black bangles, black beads, and a comb.
The copper pot represents Goddess Laxmi, and hence they decorate the pot like a beautiful woman. In the end, they cover the Kalash with cloth and mango leaves. The mouth of Kalash is then closed with a turmeric-dipped coconut. The pot is then placed in front of Goddess Laxmi, and people perform Aarti.
The next day, the pot is placed on a rice bed. The puja is started by first worshiping Lord Ganesha because Ganesha is worshiped before the beginning of any auspicious work in Hinduism. After that, Goddess Laxmi is worshipped, and everyone prays in front of her idol.
People wear new clothes and prepare different sweets. People distribute the prepared sweets among each other. This way, Varalakshmi Vratam puja is performed.
On Saturday, which is the next day of the puja, people use the Kalash water to sprinkle all over their homes. They use the Kalash rice for a cooking meal for their family.
Significance of this Festival
Worshipping Goddess Laxmi and observing the Vrat are considered most significant. By worshipping on this day, a devotee worships all eight forms of the Goddess: Bhu (Earth), Siri (Wealth), Sarasvathi (learning), Keerthi (Fame), Shanthi (Peace), Prithi (Love), Pushti(Strength) and Santhushti (Pleasure).
Thus when you worship one Goddess, you are worshipping her in all eight forms. That is how you get the blessings of all those eight forms other than Goddess Laxmi. That is why women who worship Laxmi on this day always see prosperity in their home and the long life of their family members. Read more : https://www.astroved.com/astropedia/en/festivals/varalakshmi-vratham
