ODIA CALENDAR

MARGASIRA (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER)

Margasira month in the Hindu calendar falls between November and December. Many Hindus perform a daily ritual called 'Margasira Brata', which involves fasting and performing various rituals and prayers every day during this month.

Prathamastami ritual is celebrated on the eighth day (Krishna Paksha Astami) of the month of Margasira according to the Odia calendar. Prathamastami is a combination of two words, Prathama and Astami. Prathama means first and Astami means eighth. On this day, mother or any other elderly lady is praying Goddess Sasthi for the long life and prosperity of the first child of a family. He or she (the first child) is given new clothes to wear, which should be sent from his/her maternal uncle. A special variety of cake called 'Enduri Pitha' is prepared for this occasion. This cake is first offered to the Goddess Sasthi and then taken by all as Prasad.

The three-day Deva Deepawali (Deepawali of Gods) ritual is celebrated on the chaturdashi day of Krushna Paksha in the Odia month of Margasira, and continues on Amavasya and Pratipada. During this Ritual, Lord Jagannath performs Shradha and offers Pinda to his ancestors. On the first day, Lord Jagannath offers Pinda to King Indradyumna, who established the Deities in the Jagannath Temple. On the second day, as incarnation of Lord Rama, Lord Jagannath offers Pinda to his Father and Mother, King Dasaratha and Queen Kausalya. On the third day (Pratipada tithi), as incarnation of Lord Krishna, Lord Jagannath offers Pinda to his ancestors - Devaki, Basudeva, Nanda and Yasoda.

Manabasa Gurubara ritual is celebrated on every Gurubara (Thursday) of the Odia month of Margasira. Goddess Mahalaxmi is the presiding deity of this festival. It is believed that Goddess Mahalaxmi, who loves neat and clean houses, visits every house during Manabasa Gurubara and therefore, the female members make their houses clean and decorate them with jhoti chita (a traditional art of Odisha made from rice paste) before performing Puja. By this month, farmers, who had worked hard in their fields for the past few months, fill their stores with freshly harvested paddy. They consider good harvest as the grace and blessing of Goddess Mahalaxmi and worship 'Mana' filled with freshly harvested paddy as her icon. Mana is a pot made of bamboo canes used in the olden days for measuring paddy.

Below we have provided the Odia calendar for November and December months of the year, you can check Sunset and Sunrise times, dates of Amavasya and Purima, all the important dates for thread ceremony, marriage and as well as dates of other festivals.

NOVEMBER MONTH ODIA CALENDAR