Vasant Panchami 2019: PM Modi wished the nation on the day of Saraswati Puja.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday extended their greetings on the occasion of Basant Panchami 2019. Basant Panchami, or Vasant Panchami, is the festival celebrating the spring season.
Both President Kovind and PM Modi took to micro-blogging site Twitter to wish the nation on Basant Panchami 2019.
"Greetings to fellow citizens on Basant Panchami, Sri Panchami, and Saraswati Puja. May this festive occasion, which heralds spring and celebrates learning, spur us to expand the frontiers of education and knowledge in our families, our society and our country," President Kovind said.
PM Modi in his greetings wished for blessings of knowledge and goodwill for all.
"Many greetings to citizens on the festival which symbolises new energy, new ambition and new vigor- Basant Panchami. I wish that Goddess of learning mother Saraswati will provide knowledge and goodwill to all," PM Modi tweeted.
Basant Panchami is also dedicated to the goddess of knowledge, arts and music, Saraswati, who is worshipped on this day.
Saraswati Puja is popular in West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that if the goddess is worshipped she will bestow gifts of learning on her devotees.
In Punjab, people celebrate the festival with gusto dressed up in yellow and also fly kites.
The festival of Basant Panchami also marks the third 'Shahi Snan' or holy dip of various akharas at the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
A large number of devotees thronged the ghats in Prayag at the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati to take a dip in the holy waters on this religiously significant occasion.
Meanwhile, Basant Panchami is being celebrated across the nation today with religious fervor and traditional gaiety.
The festivities have found place on social networking sites too with people exchanging greetings on the WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook among other sites.