Vaikuntha Chaturdashi | |
---|---|
Observed by | Hindus |
Type | Hindu |
Observances | Prayers and religious rituals, including puja with lotus flowers, lighting dipas and battis (cotton wick) for Vishnu and Shiva |
Date | Decided by the lunar calendar |
Related to | Kartika Purnima |
Vaikuntha Chaturdashi (Sanskrit: वैकुंठचतुर्दशी, romanized: Vaikuṇṭhachaturdaśī, lit. 'The fourteenth day of Vaikuntha')[1] is a Hindu holy day, which is observed on chaturdashi, the 14th lunar day of the waxing moon fortnight (shukla paksha) of the Hindu month of Kartika (November–December). The day is sacred to the deities Vishnu and Shiva. They are worshipped individually or together in different temples in Varanasi, Rishikesh, Gaya, and Maharashtra.
The holy day of Vaikuntha Chaturdashi is also observed in Maharashtra by the Marathas as per the custom set by Shivaji and his mother Jijabai for this occasion and by the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, though in a slightly different format.[2]