Basant Panchami: Symbolism of Yellow Colour

Basant Panchami: also known as Vasant Panchami, Shri Panchami, and Saraswati Panchami, Hindu followers celebrate the day by dressing in yellow, worshipping the goddess Saraswati, and indulging in traditional foods. Although the celebration honours Maa Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, the arts, wisdom, and fortune, have you ever wondered why Saraswati Puja devotees wear yellow clothing?

Basant Panchami, which will be celebrated on January 26 this year, is a festival that marks the arrival of spring. Yellow is a prominent color throughout celebrations, whether it be in food, decorations, or dress. During Basant Panchami, rural India’s mustard, daffodils, marigolds, yellow hyacinth, yellow lilies, and forsythia shrubs burst into brilliant yellow blooms, and there are Saraswati Puja celebrations taking place all over the city.

Yellow flowers and sweets are brought to Saraswati as part of the puja rituals because the colour is associated with the goddess and represents knowledge as well as mustard fields, which are linked to the beginning of spring. The consort of Brahma, Saraswati, is believed to have been born on Basant Panchami, the fifth day of the lunar month of Magh (which occurs in January-February). Because yellow symbolizes the season Vasant, or spring, and Saraswati is worshipped primarily with marigolds, women dress in hues of the same color on this day.

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु विद्या-रूपेण संस्थिता। नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः। Happy Saraswati Puja & Basant Panchami. #सरस्वती_पूजा #बसंत_पंचमी_2023#बसंत_पंचमी pic.twitter.com/6Zq8QlSa5n

— Santanu kumar sahoo (@Santanu58763596) January 26, 2023

Also Read: Basant Panchami 2023: Administration on high alert as crowd of devotees reach Sangam Ghats

Devi Saraswati’s favorite colour is yellow

It also represents the brightness of the new sun and new life and is a symbol of good health, prosperity, and harmony. Yellow, which serves as the primary colour for Holi and is also known as Basanti since it is clearly associated with basant, or spring, is also thought to be an auspicious colour because Basant Panchami marks the start of a new season.

बसंत पंचमी की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं 🙏#basantpanchami2023 pic.twitter.com/heUrlBOgER

— Swaroop Rawal (@YoSwaroop) January 26, 2023

As the festival marks the beginning of Holi, the festival of colours is celebrated in Brij Bhoomi and the temples of Vrindavan are fully adorned with marigold flowers.

People residing in Rajasthan prepare custom flowers made from Jasmine garlands on Basant Panchami.