Famous Festival of Odisha Raja Parba Festival
Recently a 3-day Raja Parba Utsav (Raja Parba Festival) has been celebrated in Odisha. ‘Raja Parba Utsav’ is in a way a 3 days celebration for ‘womanhood’.
Key points
- The believers of this festival have a belief that during this period, Mother Earth has its menstrual cycle and prepares itself for future agricultural activities as soon as the monsoon arrives.
- Various types of cakes are prepared on this festival which is also called Pitha here i.e. the festival is also synonymous with the varieties of cakes (Pithas). For this, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has run a special program named ‘Pitha on Wheels’.
Raja Parba
This festival is also known as Mithun Sankranti. It is a 3-day festival celebrating womanhood in Odisha. The second day of this festival begins the solar month of Mithun and from this time the rainy season begins. It is believed that Mother Earth undergoes menstruation in the first 3 days. The fourth day is called VasumatiSnan or the ceremonial bath of Bhudevi.
When and how is this festival celebrated?
This festival is celebrated in the middle of June. The first day is called ‘Pahili Raja’, the second day is called ‘Mithun Sankranti’ and the third day is called ‘Bhudah or Basi Raja’. The last fourth day is called ‘BasumatiSnan’, on this day women bathe the grinding stone with turmeric paste as a symbol of land. All kinds of seasonal fruits are offered to the land.
Source – The Hindu
