Guga navami!!!

Hey Punjab de IL's....

So how many of you celebrated Guga Navami this time??
How were the celebrations? I am sure they were great like always...
Do share your experiences with us and those who do not know about this wonderful festival...

For those of you who dont know what it is, let me explain...

Guga Navami is a Hindu festival celebrated on the Navami day in the Bhadrapada month (August).

Celebrated on the next day of Sree Krishna Janmashtami, Guga Navami is associated with Guga (Guga Pir), the Snake King. Guga Navami festival is much popular in Punjab and Haryana and some other regions of North India.

It is believed that the Guga Pir has supernatural powers and can even cure a person of snakebite.

Married women perform Guga Navami puja for the health and well being of their children. Guga Navami Vrat is taken by those who do not have children.

So, do share your experiences of the fairs and pujas...
And help spread the culture of Punjab...
Regards...

This festival is celebrated with vigor.. Do you know the legend behind it?

Legend has it that Guga, a Rajput prince and hero, had supernatural powers to control snakes. He got the powers even before his birth from Baba Gorakhnath.

There are different versions of the story of Guga and is narrated on the day as part of rituals.

All stories include his divine birth, his art of healing people bitten by snakes and controlling venomous snakes, his marriage, dispute with cousins, wars and his final disappearance from earth. He is believed to have defeated numerous powerful kings.

Many a times I have seen people offering milk to snakes hoping to get blessings from the Gods.

It looks really dangerous...

saha nav avatu, saha nau bhunaktu, saha viryam karavavahi: tejasvi nav adhitam astu: ma vidvisavahai; aum santih, santih, santih

May He protect us both; may He be pleased with us both; may we work together with vigor; may our study make us illumined; may there be no dislike between us. Aum, peace, peace, peace.

This will bring peace to your mind... certainly.

It is believed that the Guga Pir has supernatural powers and can even cure a person of snakebite.

The shrine of Guga is known as “Mari”, which is a cubical building featuring a minaret on each corner and a tomb inside it. Married women perform Guga Navami puja for the health and well being of their children.

Guga Navami Vrat is taken by those who do not have children.

During the Guga Navami festival occasion, people built “chari” which is a structure built using a long bamboo which is beautifully decorated with colored threads, peacock feathers, hand fans, coconut, and a blue flag. The saints take the ‘chari’ around the village in a big procession in which the women and children sing and dance in praise of Guga God.

The people in the villages pray for the well being of their family and also give offerings. The procession ends when it reaches the village choupal (village gathering place), where some religious rites will be performed to invoke the blessings of the snake god.

Guga Navami Fairs & Melas are held in several villages in Haryana and Punjab during this occasion

I guess the mela's are still on...