Vaisakhi (IAST: vaisākhī), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated every year on April 14. While it is culturally significant as a harvest festival, some also consider Vaisakhi to be the legitimate date of the Indian solar New Year. However, it is important to understand that this is not a universally accepted belief, with some people considering the preceding month of Chet as the New Year.
Vaisakhi, the Indian solar new year
Vaisakhi ( Punjabi : ਵੈਸਾਖੀ , vaisākhī , is also known as Baisākhī ), it is a very important day for Sikhs and one of the most colorful events in the Sikh calendar. It occurs every year in mid-April and traditionally coincides in Punjab with the first harvest of the year's crops. Historically, the festival has been a very joyous occasion and a time of celebration. However, since 1699, it marks the very significant religious event of the creation of the Khalsa Panth.
Vaisakhi falls on the first day of the month of Vaisakh and marks the entry of the Sun into the Mesha Rasi marking the solar transition to Aries. The day is also described as Mesha Sankranti in India. The New Year usually falls on April 14 and April 15 once every thirty-six years. Since 2003, the Sikh Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee has named the month in which Vaisakhi falls as Vaisakh, making it the first day of the second month according to the Nanakshahi calendar.
The importance as a Sikh religious festival began after the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur for refusing to convert to Islam under the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. This triggered the rise of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism, who later inaugurated the Khalsa on Vaisakhi in 1699.
Increased persecution of Sikhs by Mughal authorities followed a period of increasing strength of the Sikh movement in the Malwa region of Punjab during the period of Guru Tegh Bahadur, which would lead to his execution and the subsequent founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh, to defend religious freedoms. This gave Vaisakhi the added dimension of being observed as a celebration of the formation of the Khalsa, and is also known as Khalsa Sirjana Divas or Khalsa Sajna Divas. The birth of the Khalsa Panth took place on 30 March 1699.
Later, Ranjit Singh was proclaimed Maharaja of the Sikh Empire on 12 April 1801, creating a unified political state, with Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak, conducting the coronation.
It is celebrated in much the same way as Gurpurab, or a guru's birthday, with decorated gurdwaras and frequented by Sikhs who listen to kirtans and religious discourses. Many Sikhs also choose to be inducted into the Khalsa order on this day. After the prayers, Karah Parshad is then served to the congregation, and the function concludes with a langar, or community lunch. The festival is marked by a nagar kirtan street procession led by a group of Panj Pyare representatives, and music, singing and chanting of scriptures are part of the celebration.
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Today, Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi, the harvest festival. It is tradition to start harvesting after this festival. #mythology #myth #legend #calendar #April 13 #April 14 #aisakhi
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