Saraswati Puja in Odisha: Festival that transforms spaces & lives

By Binit Kumar Bhoi

Saraswati Puja is celebrated on Basant Panchami when students across the state and place their books before the goddess and step away from learning for an entire day in reverence to the goddess.

Saraswati is the divine embodiment of knowledge, music, and the arts. This ritualized abstention carries a message that resonates through Odisha.

Also Read: Padma Besha, Basant Panchami, and Saraswati Puja in Jagannath Culture

The Divine Origin of Knowledge

According to Hindu cosmological tradition,on Magha Shukla Panchami which is the fifth day of the bright fortnight in the lunar month of Magha, commonly known as Basant Panchami, marks the moment when Lord Brahma, the creator deity, manifested Goddess Saraswati through his divine powers. Her emergence initiated what sacred texts describe as the very flow of knowledge into the universe.

This was not merely the creation of another celestial being, but the birth of consciousness itself.

With her came the capacity to perceive, understand, articulate, and create. She is venerated as the "Mother of the Vedas," the primordial source from which humanity's oldest sacred knowledge streams forth.

The iconography of Goddess Saraswati encodes layers of philosophical meaning that practitioners contemplate during worship. Her white attire symbolizes purity of true knowledge, untainted by ego or worldly attachments. The book she holds represents the transformative power of learning. The veena, a stringed musical instrument resting in her hands, signifies the arts and music.

Perhaps most significant is her vehicle: the swan, or hamsa in Sanskrit. In Hindu philosophy, the swan possesses the ability to separate milk from water when the two are mixed which is a metaphor for the discriminating wisdom that distinguishes eternal truth from materialism.

A Festival That Transforms Spaces and Lives

On Basant Panchami, homes, schools, and temples throughout Odisha undergo a devotional transformation. Families install adorned idols or images of the goddess, creating temporary shrines. Educational institutions, from primary schools to universities, organize collective pujas that bring together students, teachers, and communities in shared veneration.

The ritual practices surrounding Saraswati Puja in Odisha blend Vedic tradition with regional cultural expressions. Students engage in a practice of profound symbolic practice: they place their books, notebooks, and writing instruments before the goddess's image, effectively surrendering their learning to her care.

The logic underlying this practice subverts conventional approaches to education. By abstaining from study on the day most sacred to the goddess of knowledge, devotees enact a recognition that learning ultimately derives from sources beyond individual effort. The gesture acknowledges human limitation and divine abundance,

Aksharabhyasam: The Sacred Beginning of Literacy

Among the most cherished traditions associated with Saraswati Puja in Odisha is Aksharabhyasam, the ceremony of first writing. Parents bring young children, typically between ages three and five, to participate in this initiatory rite that marks their formal introduction to the world of letters and learning.

Children trace their first letters on plates filled with rice grains. Sometimes this occurs before the goddess's image at home; often it takes place during community celebrations at schools or temples, where learned elders guide tiny fingers forming sacred syllables or the child's own name. This ceremony reflects the traditional Hindu understanding of education as a sacred endeavour. The blessings of Saraswati are invoked not for material success alone, but for the wisdom to use knowledge righteously, the creativity to contribute beauty to the world, and the discernment to navigate truth amid complexity.

Cultural Celebrations: Dance, Music, and Culinary Traditions

Following the formal worship, Saraswati Puja celebrations expand into vibrant cultural expressions that engage the community's artistic and culinary traditions. Odissi dance performances, the classical dance form indigenous to Odisha, are organized at temples, cultural centers, and educational institutions. Musical programs featuring both classical and devotional compositions fill the air. The participation is often intergenerational, with established artists performing alongside students and emerging talents, creating a living transmission of cultural heritage.

Communal feasting represents another essential dimension of the celebration, with specific culinary preparations holding traditional significance. Basanta Kakara Pitha, a sweet pancake made from rice flour and jaggery, appears on tables throughout the state. Sweet Kanika, a fragrant preparation of rice cooked with ghee, sugar, raisins, and cashews, scented with cardamom, serves as both prasad (blessed food offering) and festive delicacy. Chuda Ghasa, a mixture of flattened rice combined with jaggery, coconut, and banana, provides a simpler but equally cherished traditional offering.

Sacred Observances at Jagannath Temple

While Saraswati Puja unfolds in countless individual and institutional settings across Odisha, the observances at Puri's Jagannath Temple add layers of ritual significance that connect the goddess's day to the temple's grand ceremonial calendar.

On Basant Panchami, the temple conducts the Ratha Katha Anukula ceremony, which represents the inaugural ritual step toward the monumental Rath Yatra. During this ceremony, the timber that will eventually be crafted into the massive wooden chariots receives ceremonial worship. The timing is deliberate: just as Saraswati's blessings initiate students into learning, so too does the Ratha Katha Anukula initiate the sacred process of chariot construction. This visual spectacle draws thousands of pilgrims to Puri, many of whom time their visits to coincide with both the Chacheri Besha and their own Saraswati Puja observances.

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A Philosophy of Learning and Surrender

Beneath the colourful festivities and elaborate rituals, Saraswati Puja articulates a distinctive educational philosophy that merits contemplation, particularly in contemporary contexts where learning is often reduced to credential accumulation and economic advancement.

The festival teaches that knowledge is not primarily a possession to be acquired through competitive striving, but a gift to be received with gratitude and humility. The practice of offering books to the goddess and abstaining from study enacts this understanding: students acknowledge that their capacity to learn, understand, and create derives from sources beyond their individual will. This does not diminish human effort or devalue disciplined study. Rather, it contextualizes such efforts within a larger framework of meaning.

In Odisha's unique observance of Saraswati Puja, with its mandatory pause from study, communities enact this wisdom annually. The goddess receives her due, and devotees receive in return not merely academic success, but an orientation toward learning that views education as spiritual practice, knowledge as sacred trust, and wisdom as divine grace made manifest in human consciousness.

(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)