Phulera Dooj 2024
Phulera Dooj also spelled as Phulera Duj or Phoolera Dooj falls on Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight of moon) Dwitiya (2nd day) in the month of Phagun which is February – March in Gregorian calendar. The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in North India, especially Vrindavan and Mathura where the temples are decked with flowers.
The day is considered to be very auspicious and the day is free from all ‘doshas’ or defects and is known as ‘Abujha Muhurta‘. Hence the astrologers and pandits needn’t consult on this day, to find an auspicious time. Due to this unique occurrence, the day is chosen as shubh mahurat by some communities to perform marriages. Also, many auspicious works are done considering it as an auspicious day.
Between Vasant Panchami and Holi
The festival of Phulera Dooj is celebrated before the Holi during the months of February and March between the festival of Vasant Panchami and Holi, it is observed during the waxing phase of moon. The day represents that God Krishna has started to prepare for the upcoming festival of colors, which is usually organized in Krishna temples in the North of India. Hence Phulera Dooj marks the arrival of Holi Festival.
This year Phulera Dooj falls on Tuesday 12th March, 2024.
Phulera Dooj is also called the festival of flowers, because many beautiful and colorful flowers arrive in the month of Falgun.
Phulera comes from the word Phul which means flowers, on this day Lord Krishna and Radha are worshiped and they are pleased to offer various types of flowers. Temples are adorned with flowers, including Radha Krishna’s idol. Also fresh and scented colors are offered to their idol. Phulera Dooj is celebrated eagerly by the North Indians especially in the Sri Krishna Temple at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and the Radha Vallabh Temple in Vrindavan.
Legend of Phulera Dooj
According to a story the union of Krishna and Radha took place on this day. Lord Krishna was not coming Vrindavan to meet Radha because of which Radha and gopis got angry and sad. Due to which the forest of Mathura started drying up and all the flowers withered. When Lord Krishna came to know about the drying forest he went to Vrindavan to meet Radha. Due to the arrival of Krishna the forest became green and flowers bloomed again. Krishna plucked the blossomed flower and threw it at Radha to tease her. Radha did the same, after seeing this the gopis and cowherds present there also started throwing flowers at each other. Since then the festival of Phulera Dooj started in Mathura to celebrate the union of Krishna and Radha.
How is Phulera Dooj celebrated
The festival of Phulera Dooj is dedicated to Lord Krishna. Devotees worship Lord Krishna with full devotion and seek his blessings to lead a life of prosperity and happiness. People play with flowers, idols of Lord Krishna and Radha are adorned with flowers. Many cultural programs and fairs are organized in temples of Lord Krishna. Devotees sing bhajans in praise of the deity to worship them. On this day, the idol of Shri Krishna is decorated with a white dress and is seated under a colored cloth and a mandap adorned with flowers.
Most important ritual of this day is to play Holi with Lord Krishna with colors of flowers. In some temples, a bit of color is smeared on the face of Lord Krishna, to mark the arrival of the Holi celebrations. Temples are decorated with lights and flowers and a piece of colorful cloth containing color is attached to the waist of the idol of Lord Krishna depicting that he is ready to play Holi. After this, the ceremony of Shayan Bhog is performed and the colorful cloth is removed from his waist.
Special ‘Bhog’ is prepared on this day which includes ‘Poha’ and other special dishes. After being offered to Lord Krishna , this ‘Bhog’ is distributed among the devotees as ‘Prasad’. ‘Sandhya Aarti’ and ‘Samaj Me Rasiya’ are the major rituals of the day. Many plays and religious activities are carried out in temples depicting several aspects of Lord Krishna’s life and his Leela.
People call it the most suitable and auspicious day for marriage. Marriage rituals are performed in Krishna temples in many places of North India and marriage is performed in front of God with great reverence. If a person is planning to start a new business venture, then there can be no better day than Phulera Dooj. In short it can be said that the festival of Phulera Dooj is a symbol of how Lord Krishna gets back the affection and love that he receives from his devotees. Devotees on this day observe fast and worship Lord Krishna and Radha to seek their blessing for a happy life.
