Fairs
& Festivals of Bihar
Ancient Vediv Religion Festivities of Bihar are
steeped in history that has no means to fathom.
Moreover, history is not always written by historians
but by people who ake up legends. and legends to
the skeptics are in fact revelations to the faithful.
At one time Bihar was beyond the pale of Aryan
culture and remained free fro the influences of
Vedic religion. During this period, the people of
ancient Bihar worshipped the forces of nature, like
serpents, stones, trees, Chaityas (funerary mounds)
Yakshas (semi divine beings), etc. Gradually these
objects were incorporated into the Aryan pantheon
and in exchange Brahmana leadership and Vedic sacrifices
were accepted by the people of this region.
The Festivities
in Bihar
The majority of people are Hindu. So all traditional
Hindu festivals are observed - Holi, Saraswati Puja,
Durga Puja or Dusserah, Deepavali, Bhaiya Dooj etc.
But there is one festival that is uniquely associated
with Bihar, and that is the festival of Chhath.
Muslims comprise a vast minority. (At the time
of partition of India, in 1947, a very large number
of Bihari Muslims migrated to Pakistan - then comprising
of East and West Pakistan. When East Pakistan was
liberated from Pakistani rule and became the nation
of Bangladesh, these Bihari Muslims had a second
migration, this time to West Pakistan, now simply
known as Pakistan. This Bihari minority in Pakistan
is known as "mujahirs" and they are engaged
in a fierce fight for their survival in Pakistan.)
Christians, although proportional to the whole population
a small minority, are very large in absolute numbers.
Many beautiful Catholic and Protestant church buildings
dot the landscape of towns in Bihar. Special mention
may be made of Patna and Ranchi. Some examples are:
the St. Joseph's Convent, the St. Xavier's School
with its chapel, Padri-Ki-Haveli, and the church
at the Holy Family Hospital in Patna; and the Gossner
Evangelical Lutheran Church at Ranchi.
Surprisingly, Bihari Sikhs, in the land that gave
the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, are very few
in number. A large number of Sikhs from the Punjab
migrated to Bihar during the partition of India
in 1947. This uprooted, but highly enterprising,
group of people quickly established itself as very
successful member of the business and industrial
community in Bihar. They are now an integral part
of the Bihari population. The Harmandir Takht, the
gurudwara that commemorates Guru Gobind Singh, is
a sacred place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs. To the
Sikhs this holy place is reverentially known as
Patna Sahib.
The amalgamation of Vedic and non-Aryan religion
was not an easy affair. It is not surprising to
find the Rig Vedic word for festival, Samana, which
has been rendered both as ‘battle’ and
‘ ‘festival’. We hear of Bhima
and Arjuna as destroying the great Chaitya on the
hills of Rajgir in order to demonstrate their hostility
towards Magadha. Likewise, the Asurs of Gaya were
uprooted by Vishnu. The famous Sonepur Cattle fair
(deeed to be the largest in the world) recreates
the Gagendra moksha legend, associated with Hariharanatha
temple in Sonepur, which was once strongly opposed
to Vishnu. The Cattle fair, beginning with the full
moon day of Kartik Purnima (November) commemorates
the ancient concord accommplished at Sonepur, between
the opposing sects of Vishnav and Shiva worshippers.
The Legend associated
with Kaun Hara Ghat
The central venue is the kaun hara (who lost ?)
ghat (river bank) which originates from a mythical
encounter between the honest gaja elephant) and
the shrewd graha (crocodile). The story dates back
to the undatable past when the elephant. Jai and
the crocodile, Vijai in their previous birth were
fraternally related devotees of Lord Vishnu. Once
they quarreled amongst themselves over the distribution
of proceeds received from a fire sacrifice. Jai,
the elder, cursed the younger Vijai for reneging
on the promise of equal shares, while Vijaia insisted
that each of them were given what they deserved
and so there was no question of sharing it. For
Vijai, the curse spelled rebirth as a vile crocodile.
In retaliation the younger cursed the elder to be
reborn as an elephant. When the anger subsided,
the two brothers realised thir mistakes but the
curses were irrevocable. Later, one Kartik Purnima
day when the saintly elephant went to the Gandak
river for a bath, the crafty crocodile caught his
foot. A fierce battle ensued and finally Lord Vishnu
had to hurl his disc to kill the crocodile. The
Hariharanatha Temple at Sonepur, housing the images
of Vishnu and Shiva, commemorates the temporary
thaw in what was otherwise a more or less permanent
war between themselves and their supporters.
Sonepur Cattle Fair
Legend apart, the famous Sonepur fair in more of
a cattle trading centre where incredible number
of birds and cattle are brought from different parts
of the country. Besides, the bewildering array of
wares are on sale and add to this the numerous folk
shows about which the BBC once remarked, "there’s
nothing like the Sonepur Cabaret." The time
to start is very early in the morning when the fog
is suddenly pierced by the sun and the huge gathering
has just emerged from the holy dip in the cold absolving
waters. The mela that lasts upto a fortnight, provides
enough time to talk to the parrots, watch the elephants
being bathed leisurely, followed by ear splitting
trumpets and then the artists working up with colourful
designs to decorate the elephants as if the pachyderm
has been tatooed all over, see the horses being
tested for their speed and stamina, big bulky buffaloes
being milked and likewise all other animals demonstrating
their skill, strength and productivity.
By midday, it is the cacophony of strong decibels
pouring in from all corners as the huge gathering
becomes denser with more and more people adding
to the sound and sight of the landscae. Ash smeared,
saffron clothed holy men blow their conches and
bang their gongs. Loudsspeakers, from various folk
shows and jugglers rent the air together with the
unison from the animals. Much before the sun sets
in, flames and fumes of dung fire burning at different
places appear to screen the sky in a very amusing
way, as if some mediveval army has just camped for
the night. and it is time to share a gossip with
one of the villagers who may better summarise the
stock and sale of the cattles for the day. Zesty
snacks together with tea comes in from the open
air restaurant.
Nag Panchmi
The rainy month of Sravana when there is danger
of death from snake bite, people appease the snake
god by offering milk during Nag Panchmi. The prime
centre of naga worship is Rajgir and Mahabharata
describes this place as the abode of serpents and
excavations have revealed numerous objects used
in serpent cult. In fact naga worship is wide spread
through out India.
Makar Sankranti Mela
Famous Makar Sankranti mela is another festival
unique to Rajgir in the month of Paus, corresponding
to mid January. Devotees make flower offerings to
the deities of the temples at Hot springs and bathe
in the holy water. Another historic place associated
with fifteen day long Makar Sankranti mela is the
Mandar hills in Banka district. Puranic legends
accounts for a great deluge which witnessed the
creation of a Asura that threatened the gods. Vishnu
cut off the Asura’s head and piled up the
body under the weight of the Mandar hill. The famous
panchjanya - the sankh (counch shell) used in the
Mahabharat war is believed to have been found here
on the hills. Traces, akin to serpent coil can be
seen around the hill and it is believed that the
snake god offered himself to be used as a rope for
churning the ocean to obtain the amrit (nectar).
Gaya-Buddhist Pilgrimage
Center
Gaya is another holy dot in Bihar, famous for the
International Buddhist Gathering and the rallying
point is the Mahabodhi tree and the adjacent temple.
The occasions are Buddha Jayanti (Buddha was born
on this day, he attained enlightenment on this day
and also attained Nirvana on this day ) and in the
month of Vaisakh (April/May) and the annual session
of Dalai Lama in December. Mahavir Jayanti is celebated
in April with much fanfare on the Parsvanath hill
and also at Vaishali while Deo Deepawali, marking
the attainment of Nirvana by Mahavira is celebrated
best at Pawapuri, ten days after Deepavali.
Gaya - Pitrapaksha
Mela
Arond september the sleepy town of Gaya is agog
with people who come here for the famous Pitrapaksha
mela or the ancestor worship typified in Sraddha
ritual. It is time for the Gayalis (the descendants
of Magga Brahmans who were once devotees of Shiva
but later converted to Vaishnavism) to be prepared
for the vedic Sraddha ceremonies or the pindan -
a mandatory Hind rite that is supposed to bring
salvation to the departed soul. In the early Dharmasastras,
Vishnu provides a list of over 50 tirthas but it
proclaims that dead ancestors pray to God for a
son who would offer pinda (lymph of rice) to them
at Gaya.
The tradition traces its history to the time of
Buddha, who is believed to have performed the first
pindan here. Turning the pages of earlier history,
one comes across the Puranic legend that ascribes
Gaya as one of the holiest spots of the world. The
Asura, named Gaya become so powerful that the gods
felt threatened and thus thought of eliminating
him. As a precondition to his death, the Asura demanded
that be should be buried in the holiest spot of
the world. This place is Gaya.
Vishnupada Temple
The central point of the Hindu pilgrimage in Gaya
is the Vishnupada temple built by Rani Ahilyabai
of Indore in 1787. The spot on which it stands is
associated with the famous mythological event of
Vishnu killing Gaya and leaving his footprints on
the rock which is the main point of worship in the
temple. The Shraddha is customarily performed under
a fig tree while the women pilgrim perform it indoors
as gayawal women live under strange customs, for
instance, they never stir out of the house, married
girl continues to get her daily ration from her
parents. They can adopt a child or even an adult,
who may assist her in their work. The Gayawals are
believed to maintain centuries old records of the
pindans performed under the supervision of their
ancestors and accordingly people prefer the specific
family of Gayawals who might have served their ancestors
as well.
Other Famous Festivities
Though Bihar is in league with festivals like Holi,
Dussehra, Deepavali but chaath puja (6 days after
Deepavali) is Bihar’s prime festival honouring
the sun god. Unlike the zestful Holi or the expensive
Deepavali) Chaath is a festival of prayer and propitiation
observed with solemnity. It is an expression of
thanks giving and seeking the blessings from the
forces of nature, prominent among them being the
Sun and river. The belief is that a devotee’s
desire is always fulfilled during Chaath. Simultaneously
an element of fear is alive among the devotees who
dread the punishment for any misdeed during Chaath.
The city remains safe during this time when criminals
too prefer to be a part of the good.
Chaath-Fasting
Chaath in Bihar can best be seen at Deo in Aurangabad
or Baragaon near Nalanda, noted for their sun temples.
Unlike other sun temples in India that faces East,
the temple at Deo faces west and during the festival
time it is the most crowded place. It is strange
to see a Brahmin standing in the river water next
to a Harijan ! The festival is more of a sacrifice
which entails purificatory preparation. It can be
performed by men or women, irrespective to caste
or creed. Chaath commences with the end of Deepavali
when the house is thoroughly cleaned, family members
go in for a holy dip, strict saltless vegetarian
menu is observed (even onions and garlic are considered
unwanted during the entire festival period), all
earthen vessels are reserved for the period only
and all possible purity of food is adhered to; clothes
have to be unstitched and people sleep on the floor.
The person observing the Chaath (known as Parvati)
observes dawn to dusk fast which concludes with
sweets. This is followed by another fast for 36
hours till the dawn of the final day when puja commences
at the river bank much before sunrise. The disciplined
parvatis remain in water from late midnight until
the ray of dawn streaks the horizons. The river
is now flooded with offerings to the sun which is
followed by breakfast and distribution among the
gatherings.
Mithila- Marriage
Market
What once used to be the debating ground scholars
debating ground in Mithila has now become saurath
Sabha or the Mithila marriage market near Madhubani.
In the summer of June, Mithila Brahmins prefer to
gather in the vast mango grove (thanks to the Raja,
Raghav Singh, the Mithila ruler of Darbhanga for
gifting the land for the ever gathering crowd of
Mithila matchmakers) in the village of Surath to
explore the possibilites, discuss horoscope and
finally to negotiate marriages within the community
but atleast five generations beyond the family.
The girl’s father is on the move trying to
locate a prospective bridegroom and so in the Ghatak
(middleman), all the more serious to earn commissions
on marriage fixtures. Once the prospective families
pass through the ordeal of question session and
feel satisfied by the initial scrutiny of the horoscopes,
they move on to the Panjikar (registrars) who verifies
the records and credentials to ensure that matrimontial
alliance was not being performed within the prohibited
degrees (within the seventh generation on paternal
side and the fifth on the maternal side). His satisfaction
earns a talpatra (palm leaf certificate) marked
in red symbolising ‘no objection certificate’
which permits the families to establish matrimonial
alliance. The Panjikar too receives a token and
he blesses the girl’s father, " May your
daughter bathe in milk and bear many sons."
The successful families finally call off the day
with a visit to the nearby Shiva temple.
The people of Mithila are believed to have followed
the Panji Prabhadha (system of recorded genealogy)
since the fourteenth century. These records were
maintained by the Panjikars, who were later to examine
the validity and purity of marriage settlements.
In fact one was supposed to be are of his ancestors
names and a daily rite of Tarpan ensured that people
offered oblations of water in the name of each ancestor
upto six or seven generations. If one recalls the
name of one’s acestors daily, one can not
forget their names
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