CHENNAI: Women across
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and
Karnataka started their day early on Friday to celebrate the auspicious
Varalakshmi Pooja
or Varalakshmi Nombu.
The festival, which is celebrated on the Friday that precedes the full moon day of the Sravana month, is dedicated to the Goddess Lakshmi, who is worshipped on this day by married women. It is based on the legend that Goddess Parvati conducted this pooja on the direction of Lord Shiva, as a ritual for married women praying for the welfare of their husbands and families.
TOI photos by D GovardanWomen begin the day early with an oil bath, decorate their front yards with an elaborate kolam or rangoli. They then decorate a kalasam (metal pot), which represents the goddess, with sandalwood paste, vermilion, betel leaves and bangles and place a coconut on it. The goddess is then decorated with flowers, vermilion powder and turmeric. They then recite slokas or holy chants to evoke the goddess.
Women wear a saradu, or a holy thread, around their wrists and visit other married women to give them gifts and the sacred vermilion.
The pooja is followed by an elaborate meal containing specialities such as pacharisi idli, kozhukattai and paruppu payasam.