आध्यात्मिकमहत्व श्रवणपौर्णमीतिथेः (ādhyātmikamahatva śravaṇapaurṇamītitheḥ – spiritual significance of shravana paurnami tithi)

   This year, according to देवव्रतपञ्चाङ्ग हिन्दुसनतनधर्मस्य (devavratapañcāṅga hindusanatanadharmasya – religious almanac of the Hindu-eternal-religion), the श्रवण पौर्णमी तिथि (śravaṇa paurṇamī tithi – aug -sep full-moon day) that is occurring today, is considered as a spiritually loaded with the following festive-events

• महा अवतार जयन्तिदिन श्री हयग्रीवस्य (mahā avatāra jayantidina śrī hayagrīvasya – supreme incarnation-day of Lord Hayagriva)
• रक्षाबन्धनोत्सव भ्रातृ च भागिनी मध्ये  (rakṣābandhanotsava bhrātṛ ca bhāginī madhye – protective bondage-festival between brother and sister)
• यज्ञोपवित उपकरम क्रिया (yajñopavita upakarama kriya – sacred thread redemption rite)

 

महा अवतार जयन्तिदिन श्री हयग्रीवस्य (mahā avatāra jayantidina śrī hayagrīvasya – supreme incarnation-day of Lord Hayagriva) for recovering back the चतुर्वेदसंहिताः (caturvedasaṃhitāḥ - four vedic corpuses) from the clutches of evil hands.  

यज्ञोपवित उपकरम क्रिया (yajñopavita upakarama kriya – sacred thread redemption rite) particularly for the द्विजा साधकाः वैदिकसंस्काराणाम् (dvijā sādhakāḥ vaidikasaṃskārāṇām - twice-born practitioners of vedic sacraments) practiced as prescribed in the शुक्लयजुर्वेदसंहिता (śuklayajurvedasaṃhitā – white yajur vedic corpus), कृष्णयजुर्वेदसंहिता (kṛṣṇayajurvedasaṃhitā – black yajur vedic corpus) & ऋग्वेदसंहिता (ṛgvedasaṃhitā – rig vedic corpus). Celestially speaking this event aligns with the कर्क सङ्क्रान्ति (karka saṅkrānti - Cancer transition) that is, the annual transition of the सूर्य (sūrya - sun) to the कर्कटक राशि / கடக ராசி (karkaṭaka rāśi / kaṭaka rāsi - Cancer Zodiac) from here on begins दक्षिणायण सूर्यस्य (dakṣiṇāyaṇa sūryasya - southward movement of sun) – theologized as भगवान् श्री सूर्य नरायण (bhagavān śrī sūrya narāyaṇa). In terms of (astronomical) seasonal changes, the period of दक्षिणायण पर्वणः (dakṣiṇāyaṇa parvaṇaḥ - period of southward movement) falls between the two celestial events of the ग्रीष्म अयन (grīṣma ayana - summer solstice) and the हेमन्त अयन (hemanta ayana - winter solstice). Etymologically speaking, the English term ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin words’ ‘sol’, meaning ‘Sun’ and ‘sister’ that means ‘to stand still’. This event commemorates the वर्षिक आरंभ वेदाध्ययनस्य (varṣika āraṃbha vedādhyayanasya – yearly beginning of vedic-study) by those द्विजा साधकाः वैदिकसंस्काराणाम् (dvijā sādhakāḥ vaidikasaṃskārāṇām - twice-born practitioners of vedic sacraments) who have formally got the ब्रह्मविद्यारंभदीक्षा (brahmavidyāraṃbhadīkṣā – spiritual education commencement consecration) by performing specific  religious संस्काराः (saṃskārāḥ - sacraments) viz. the  विद्यारंभ संस्कार (vidyāraṃbha saṁskāra –  knowledge inception sacrament), and the  उपनयन संस्कार (upanayana saṁskāra – investiture sacrament) addressing the empirical and spiritual aspects of learning respectively.  While the former focuses on the basic preliminaries for education, the actual ब्रह्मविद्या (brahma vidyā - divine wisdom) begins only with the उपनयन संस्कार (upanayana saṁskāra – investiture sacrament) typically during their ब्रह्मचर्याश्रम (brahmacaryāśrama – student-stage).  This event यज्ञोपवित उपकरम क्रिया (yajñopavita upakarama kriya – sacred thread redemption rite) is more widely practiced today, across major parts of दक्षिण भारतवर्ष (dakṣiṇa bhāratavarṣa – southern India).  

Ideally, as per the scriptures, the द्विजा साधकाः वैदिकसंस्काराणाम् (dvijā sādhakāḥ vaidikasaṃskārāṇām - twice-born practitioners of vedic sacraments), can potentially belong to the त्रिवर्णाः (trivarṇāḥ - triple classes) viz. ब्राह्मणवर्ण (brāhmaṇa varṇa- spiritual class), क्षत्रियवर्ण (kṣatriyavarṇa – royal class) & वैश्यवर्ण (vaiśyavarṇa – business class) typically during the त्रिविध आश्रमाः (trividha āśramāḥ- threefold stages) viz. ब्रह्मचर्याश्रम (brahmacaryāśrama – student-stage), ब्रह्मचर्याश्रम (gṛhasthāśrama – householder-stage) & वानप्रस्थाश्रम (vānaprasthāśrama – retirement-stage).  However, these days the ब्राह्मणवर्ण (brāhmaṇa varṇa- spiritual class) are the largest practitioners.

Please be noted that in the state of தமிழ்நாடு (tamiḻnāṭu – Tamil Nadu), this event of यज्ञोपवित उपकरम क्रिया (yajñopavita upakarama kriya – sacred thread redemption rite) is popularly known in common parlance as ஆவணி அவிட்டம் / श्रावण धनिष्टा (āvaṇi aviṭṭam  / śrāvaṇa dhaniṣṭā – Aug-Sep δ Delphini) although it mostly occurs during the ஆடி மாசம்/ आषाढ मास (āḍi māsam / āṣāḍha māsa – July- Aug month),  as in the case of this year.

This is because of the प्रदेश नानाकरणानि (pradeśa nānākaraṇāni – regional variations) in the customized models of the पञ्चाङ्ग वर्षपदाः (pañcāṅga varṣapadāḥ - almanac calendars) across different parts of भरतवर्ष (bharatavarṣa - India) viz. सूर्य वर्षपद (sūrya varṣapada  - solar calendar), चन्द्र वर्षपद (candra varṣapada  - lunar calendar), अमावास्यन्त सूर्यचन्द्र वर्षपद (amāvāsyanta sūryacandra varṣapada  - new-moon-ending luni-solar calendar), पूर्णिमान्त सूर्यचन्द्र वर्षपद (pūrṇimānta sūryacandra varṣapada  - full-moon-ending  luni-solar calendar), etc.

 

रक्षाबन्धनोत्सव भ्रातृ च भागिनी मध्ये  (rakṣābandhanotsava bhrātṛ ca bhāginī madhye – protective bondage-festival between brother and sister)  event is more widely practiced today, उत्तर भारतवर्ष (uttara  bhāratavarṣa –  northern India).  The earliest reference to this event can be traced to the महाइतिहासकाव्यशास्त्र (mahāitihāsakāvyaśāstra – grand epic scripture) viz. महाभारत (mahābhārata) between भगवान् श्री कृष्णपरमात्मन् (bhagavān śrī kṛṣṇaparamātman) and His beloved devotee-sister द्रौपदी (draupadī).