RIVER GODAVARI PUSHKARAM
With good rains in Maharastra, where Godavari originates, the river is in full spate crossing danger level at Bhadrachalam, the abode of Srirama, and other towns along the course of the river, while the state is spending hundreds of millions for arrangements to receive millions of piligrams from all over the country and abroad for a holy dip, to offer prayers to river goddess, and to do rituals to the departed souls of the elderly family members at the time of Godavari Pushkarams, which comes once in 12 years and this year on 30th July.
Every year as Nirayana Jupiter enters one Zodiac sign, there will be a Pushkaram for one of the 12 major rivers in the country. When Niryana Jupiter- Guru - Bruhaspathi enters Zodiac sign Leo- Simha Rasi River Godavari will have Pushkaram. In the same way the other Pushkarams are as follows.
ARIES GANGA
TAURUS NARMADA
GEMINI SARSAWATHI
CANCER YAMUNA
LEO GODAVARI
VIRGO KRISHNA
LIBRA KAVERI
SCORPIO BHIMARATHI
SAGITTARIUS BRAHAMAPUTRA
CAPRICORN TUNGABHADRA
AQUARIUS SINDHU
PISCES PRANITHA
Pushkar is river God according to Hindu mythology. People will have holy dip at the time of Jupiter - Guru enters the particular sign in that particular river for shedding their sins and to conduct rituals for those departed souls of the their family members and for protection of humanity from the floods and to have good harvests.
For 12 days from the day Jupiter enters people will gather along the course of River Godavari to have the Holy Dip. After offering the prayers people will give away as Danam such as rice, money, gold, silver, cow, clothes, millets etc., Water being the source of life praying the water God has become a regular feature in the traditional way of life of Hindus. Since India is a combination of different languages and cultures the Pushkaram makes them congregate at one place which helps the unity in diversity.
There are controversies as to the date of Pushkaram for Godavari. Some are saying the 16th July itself and majority says it is 30th July. Main reason for the controversy is as to when actually the Jupiter enters the sign Leo. For the modern accurate astronomical calculations Jupiter actually enterd in Leo on 2nd August 2002 itself. But the Indian saints don't agree with the moving Zodiac and take that the Zodiac is fixed as positioned at 285 A.D and some say it is 485 A.D so on so forth. Over these 1700 odd years the Zodiac moved by about 23 degrees 55 minutes. So the Indian saints will pull the planets back by about these degrees called ayanamsa. Since this ayanamsa degree is varying with different school of thought of well known Saints, these different dates are arrived at. When late Jawaharlal Nehru formed a calender committee with various Saints from different parts of the country to have a common ayanamsa, most of them agreed with Lahiri Ayanamsa and according to which 30th July is the date of entry of Jupiter in to Leo.
Sri Madhira Krishnamurthy Sastry disputed the date according to calculations as per Surya Siddantha 16th July as the date of Jupiter's entry in Leo. Surya Siddantha is a crude method of calculation which will not answer the exact time and dates of New Moon, Full Moon and Eclipses etc., which actually confirm the accuracy of calculations and dhruk siddhantha. Hence modern astronomical calculations are accurate and after so arriving the correct position, the ayanamsa part is deducted to arrive at fixed zodiac positions of the planet .It is better to have a uniform understanding about ayansamsa so that the disputes regarding the dates of festivals etc., can be avoided.
The important places where Government has made vast arrangements for the pilgrims to have holy dip and perform rituals are Rajamundry, Kovvur, Basara, Bhadrachalam, Kaleswaram, Dhramapuri etc., People can make use of these arrangements to have comfortable holy dip,Tarpanam and prayers. Those that cannot avail this opportunity in these 12 days can still have the opportunity from 16th Aug. 2004 to 27th Aug 2004 as Antya Pushkaram (Pushkaram ending time - before Jupiter passing into the next sing Virgo). |
