Why in the News?

• In Rajasthan, the Gangaur Festival is celebrated every year on the Tritiya Tithi of Shukla Paksha of Chaitra month.
• This time, the Gangaur Festival was celebrated on 31 March 2025.

Key Points:

About the Festival:

⇒Gangaur is a major festival celebrated in different forms in Rajasthan, celebrated every year in the month of Chaitra (first month of Hindu calendar).

⇒"Gan" refers to Lord Shiva and "Gauri" or "Gaur" refers to Goddess Parvati.

⇒This festival is mainly celebrated by women, in which they worship Goddess Gauri and Lord Shiva to attain a happy married life, unbroken good fortune and the happiness of children.

⇒This festival reflects Rajasthani culture and the devotion of women towards their husbands.

Gangaur Dance:

⇒This is a famous folk dance of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh , in which girls hold each other's hands and move around in a circular circle, praying to Goddess Gauri for the long life of their husbands.

⇒The songs of this dance glorify and praise Shiva-Parvati, Brahma-Savitri and Vishnu-Lakshmi.

Hindu Solar Calendar (Shaka Samvat):

• The zero year of Shaka Samvat is 78 AD. It was started by the Shaka rulers to mark their victory over the Kushans .
• It is a solar calendar, with its date system based on the time it takes the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun, a seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days.
• It was adopted as the official calendar by the Government of India in 1957 . It has 365 days every year.