2020-07-06 Mon

The first shower of monsoon marked the beginning of the holy month of Sawan as well as Chaturmas. This year the month of Sawan began today on 6th July and will end on 3rd August as per the north Indian Purnimant calendar. Purnimant Calendar is- is a calendar in which month ends with Purnima or full moon day. The end of the month is celebrated by Rakshabhandhan or Teej in states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chattisgarh.

In the south, the Shravan month will start on 23rd July and will end on 19th August 2020 as the south follows the Amavasyant calendar. It is a Hindu calendar in which a month ends with Amavasya or the new moon day. It is followed by devotees in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.

This month is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. According to legend Lord Shiva drank venom during Samudra Manthan (the churning of the cosmic ocean) to obtain Amrit or nectar by the Deva and Asura. Goddess Parvati is believed to have stopped the venom from entering his body by holding his neck. His neck turned blue which also gave him the name ‘Neelkanth’. Lord further suffered pain and burns. So, as a gesture of gratitude, his devotees offer water from the River Ganga to help his wounds heal.

To dedicate this day, the above-shown coin represents Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on the gold pagoda of King Dev Raya I of Vijaynagar.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction