In this article, you will learn about the Significance of Sharad Purnima (Kojagiri Purnima) as per Ayurveda.
By Bharat Vaidya
Dr. Bharat Vaidya: M.D., Europe; B.A.M.S.; Bombay, India; Founder and Owner of Ayurved Sadhana.
Significance: Sharad Purnima or Kojagiri Purnima is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Krishna. Devotees worship Lord Krishna and Moon on this auspicious day to seek their divine blessings. Sharad Purnima is also referred to as Raas Purnima as on this day, Lord Krishna is believed to have performed Maha-Raas, or divine love dance.
What to Eat: On this day, people prepare flattened rice flakes (Poha) with milk, saffron and cardamom. We also prepare rice kheer or porridge and other sweets like Cinnamon Coconut and Almond Milk Rice and leave it under moonlight to absorb the curative properties of moon rays. Later we consume this delicious food along with singing folk songs and mantras. When the direction of the ecliptic is narrow, the moon rises remarkably out of the north on our horizon from one night to the next. There’s no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. In other words, around the time of an autumn full moon, many people see the rising moon ascending in the eastern sky at dusk for several evenings in a queue. Shamans offer special prayers on this night. In Masonic lodges they offer special prayer in the evening.
Ayurvedic Perspective: There is an Ayurvedic reason behind consuming flattened rice flakes with cool milk on this full moon night. Sharad Ritu (Autumn season) consists of two months of overlapping seasons when the previous season is about to end, and the cold season slowly starts.
During Sharad Ritu or Autumn season, the days are still warm, and nights start to become cooler. This is the perfect season for Pitta Prakop (metabolic fire vitiation) when pitta or fire element vitiates along with other elements. Consuming rice flakes with milk during nighttime on a full moon is a good remedy to pacify bodily fire (Pitta-metabolism).
Chants or Rituals: On this day, read Ratri Sukta; which is the Vedic prayers to pay respect to energies of night to avoid many negative and demonic energies. It is also the best time to wear moonstone or pearl on your pinky finger to calm your anger and pitta (fire element) by chanting moon mantra – ||Om Chandraya Namaha: ||
Even if we have lunar eclipse on this Sharad Purnima, please follow some of the above rituals without hesitation at nighttime.
Happy Sharad Purnima or Full Moon to all our readers which is on Saturday, October 28, 2023!
Click Here for Our Cinnamon Coconut and Almond Milk Rice Recipe
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