Saraswati
Vasant Panchami
Spring's first day — and the day of Saraswati, learning, and beginnings in study.
Tithi: Magha Shukla Panchami
In the simplest words
Spring's first day, and the birthday of learning: we wear yellow, keep our books near Ma Saraswati, and ask her to make our minds bright.
The story & purpose
On Vasant Panchami the goddess of speech, music, and knowledge is worshipped as spring arrives. Homes and schools dress in yellow — the colour of ripening mustard fields and of the mind at its brightest.
It is the classical day for vidyarambha — a child's first letters, written with the goddess as witness.
What is done
Saraswati puja
White flowers, yellow sweets, and books, instruments, or tools placed at her feet.
Vidyarambha
Children write their first letters; students begin new subjects.
Saraswati jaap
Om Aim Saraswatyai Namah — 21 or 108 times.
Best timings
Puja is done within Panchami tithi during the morning hours (purvahna).
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
In Bengal, books and pens rest at the goddess's feet on the puja day itself — students neither read nor write until they take them back the next morning.
Yellow rice or kesari halwa is the naivedya of the day in many homes.
Kites rise over Punjab this day; in Bengal the mango's first blossom is offered to the goddess.