Basant Panchami is a festival dedicated to Lord Saraswati, the goddess of education. On this auspicious occasion celebrated on February 3, a temple in Andhra Pradesh offered several pens to its deity. In a special ritual, people prayed offering one lakh pens to Ainavilli Ganpati. Visuals from the festivities have surfaced on social media.
Watch videos
The Ainavilli Vinayaka temple in Ainavilli, Andhra Pradesh carried out a three-day-long ritual dedicated to the education of young children. During these festivities, kids were made to offer prayers to Goddess Saraswati in the presence of their parents. They took the slates and wrote for the first time, seeking the blessings of the goddess of education and knowledge.
A video from the temple showed priests offering pens at the feet of Lord Ganesha, which was reportedly disturbed to children later. It was learned that as many as one lakh pens were offered to the Lord during the Basant Panchami rituals.
According to reports, the temple carries out this special prayer every on the occasion of Basant Panchami, where it offers pens to the deity.
All you need to know about Basant Panchami
The festival is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati and devotees carry out Saraswati Puja on this day, invoking her blessings in their academic life. Also, Basant Panchami marks the arrival of spring. This year, the auspicious occasion was celebrated on February 3. The day was also marked at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela with a 'Shahi Snan'
More about Ainavilli Ganesh temple
The Ainavilli Sri Vigneswara Swamy Temple is located in the Konaseema region of East Godavari district. According to the official website of the religious site, the temple has been mentioned in the holy scriptures. The Sthala Purana states Sage Vyasa first installed the idol of Vinayaka here before embarking on his journey to South India. The temple is known for its grand celebration of the 'Festival of learning' on Magha Shuddha Panchami or Basant Panchami.
