Sat Feb 01 23:47:52 IST 2025: ## Basant Panchami 2025: Auspicious Muhurat and Puja Details Announced

**NEW DELHI** – Basant Panchami, the festival celebrating the Hindu goddess Saraswati, the deity of knowledge and learning, will be observed on February 2nd, 2025. This day marks the arrival of spring and is considered an auspicious time for worshipping Saraswati.

According to the Hindu Panchang, the most auspicious time for puja (worship) falls between 7:09 AM and 12:35 PM on February 2nd, offering a window of 5 hours and 26 minutes. The Panchami Tithi, the period during which the festival is celebrated, begins at 9:14 AM on February 2nd and ends at 6:52 AM on February 3rd.

Devotees can invoke Goddess Saraswati’s blessings by chanting mantras such as “ॐ ऐं वाग्देव्यै विद्महे कामराजाय धीमहि” and “ॐ ऐं ऐं ह्रीं ह्रीं ह्रीं सरस्वत्यै नमः”.

Traditional Basant Panchami celebrations involve waking up early, bathing, and wearing yellow clothes – the symbolic color of the festival representing energy and prosperity. The puja involves setting up a shrine with a picture or statue of Goddess Saraswati, along with offerings of white flowers, yellow cloth, and white sesame seeds. A veena (stringed instrument) and books are traditionally placed at her feet.

It’s recommended to abstain from tamasic foods (those considered to have negative energy) like onions and garlic, opting instead for sattvic (pure) vegetarian food. Donating grains and yellow sweets is considered highly auspicious, believed to bring prosperity and abundance. Offering Kesar (saffron) Kheer is also believed to please the Goddess.

The festival is also known as Rishi Panchami and emphasizes seeking blessings for knowledge and wisdom. The observance of a fast is customary, broken only after the completion of the puja and partaking of the prasad (blessed food).

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