On the occasion of Lohri, devotees offer their thanksgivings and pray to the deities of sun, earth and fire for prosperity and happiness. (Source: Express Archive photo by Rana Simranjit Singh)
Lohri marks the celebration of harvest. Primarily considered as the festival of Punjabis, it is celebrated with great pomp and show, especially in the north Indian region to commemorate the passing of the winter solstice. People offer their thanksgivings and pray to the deities of the sun, earth and fire for prosperity and happiness on this festival.
It is essentially termed as the festival of the farmers, the festival of harvest, whereby, the farmers can thank the supreme being and his agents by lighting a bonfire and offering sacrifices in their names and asking for their blessings. Lohri is a way to spread the joy of seeing the sparkling pearls of rabi crops amidst traditional folk songs, dance and food. (Read more about the folk tales and symbolism associated with Lohri here.)
It is associated directly with the sun, earth and fire. Sun represents the life element, earth represents our food and fire maintains our health. All these elements are granted to us free of cost by the supreme personality of godhead and we are not liable to pay for them.
But, since we require them and are taking the selfless service from the nature, it is always advised to say thanks to them in return and pray to them for our protection and prosperity. Here are the basic puja rites and rituals followed on Lohri.
Lohri Puja and Vidhi
On Lohri, the complete puja consists of Shri Kalash Sthapan Puja, Pranprathista, Shodashopchar Puja, Surya Dev Puja and Path, Agni Dev Puja and Path, Pritha Devi Puja and Paath, 1008 Namavali Paath, Agni kund Puja, Brihad Shri Kuladev Mantra Japa, Sarva Shanti Puja, Purnahuti, Homa and Visarjan. Through this powerful puja, an atmosphere of positivity is created, which the person can himself feel.
The puja samagris include
* Purified Mango wood
* Sugar cane
* Kumkum
* Akshat
* Naivedya
* Gangajal
* Kalash
* Shriphal
* Havan Samidha
* Shodash Matrika
* Surya and Agni Yantra and other items
Puja timings
Every event occurring on earth is associated with a perfect timing. Sun rising in the middle of night is of no use. Similarly, our Vedic tradition has specified the timings of every puja, which gives the highest merit and result to the performer. That’s why we often see the purohits making a point, “Shubh muhurat is about to get over. Please make haste.”
This year the Shubh Muhurat to start your Lohri puja (after sunset) on January 13, 2018, from 17:57 to 19:37 or from 21:16 to 22:56.
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