Ratha Saptami 2023:
Ratha Saptami falls on the seventh day of Magha Shukla Paksha Saptami or the waxing phase of the Moon in the month of Magha. This year Ratha Saptami 2023 will be celebrated on Saturday 28th January. The festival is dedicated to the Lord Sun and is also known as ‘Surya Jayanti’, ‘Magha Jayanti’ or ‘Magha Saptami’. Lord Surya is said to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that Lord Surya enlightened the world on this day.
Rituals to be followed on the occasion of Ratha Saptami day 2023:
One should get up early in the morning on Rathasaptami day.
1.Arka or Jilledu ( Calotropies procera) leaves should be placed on seven different parts of the body, two shoulders, two thighs, one on the chest and one on the Head and a bath should be taken. Sanatana dharma says that those who take a bath like this will get healthy.
ratha saptami mantra:
2.Repeating the mantra “Sapta sapta maha sapta, sapta dweepa vasundra, sapta arka parnamadaya, saptami ratha saptami” should do the above bathing process three times.
- After bathing, all family members should pray to Lord Surya while boiling milk. When the milk overflows during boiling, one should bow down to the overflowing milk considering it as an offering to Lord Surya.
- On Rathasaptami day make paramanna with jaggery and put it in jilladu leaf and offer that paramanna to Surya and perform sun worship with Ashtottara Shatanamavali of Surya Bhagavan. Those who worship the sun and receive the prasad offered to the sun will get rid of their illnesses and get success due to the grace of the sun god.It is said that those who recite Surya Ashtakam and Aditya Hridayam on the seventh day of the Chariot will get all the good fortune.
Ratha Saptami Significance:
According to the movement of the sun, there are two types namely Uttarayana and Dakshinayana. Dakshinayana from Ashadhamasam to Pushyamasam. Surya Ratha travels south in Dakshinayanam. Later the name Rathasaptami came to indicate the beginning of the entry of the Sun into Capricorn (Makara rasi).
Lord Surya is the one who removes the darkness and gives light to all the worlds. In the morning as Lord Brahma, in the afternoon as Lord Maheshwar, in the evening as Lord Vishnu, Lord Surya who appears in three-eyed form on a chariot of seven white horses wearing white lotus. The Vedas state that the journey of Lord Surya on a golden chariot with seven horses is “Hiranyaena Savitharathena”. The Sun and the Seven Horses are the signs of the seven weeks. These seven horses are called Vedachandassu. Sum rides on a chariot of seven horses namely Gayatri, Trishnup, Jagati Anushtup, Pankti, Brihati and Hemtik. They travel in the twelve signs from Aries to Pisces. Surya Ratha takes a year to complete these 12 signs. The journey of the sun to the chariot starts from this day. As the offspring of Aditi Kashyap, Shuklapaksha Saptami in the month of Maghamasa is celebrated as ‘Surya Jayanti’ as the day the sun descends. That is called ‘Ratha Saptami’. Sun is worshiped on that day. It is believed that on that holy day the entire sky appears in the shape of a chariot(Ratham).
Surya is the lord of infinite time. He who bestows consciousness on the universe. ‘Bhasam’ means brightness. The one who does ‘Karudu’ is ‘Bhaskaradu’ which means ‘one who brightens the world’. All the Bhuvanas are active during the day and dormant during the night due to the inspiration of the Sun Lord. Our Sanatana Dharma considers the Sun as the center of energy, the creator of the world, the supporter of life, the witness of karma, the seer of the world, the bestower of physical and spiritual well-being.
Surya Mandal is worshiped as Jnana Mandal. It is worshiped with its rays as the one who dispels physical darkness, the ignorance of the unconscious mind, the one who drives away diseases, the one who bestows a happy mind, clear vision and health in old age. ‘Saptashwas’ are called seven weeks and Ekachakra is called ‘Kalachakram’.
That is why Indians worship the sun considering this day as a holy day. “Bha” means sunlight and “rati” means sun, so all sun worshipers are Indians. “Bharati” means Mother of Vedas. Indians are also worshipers of Veda Mata.
RathaSaptami festival celebration:
On Rathasaptami, Surya Mandalas and Suryadevara processions are held at Arasavalli Sun Temple, Mysore Temples in Karnataka, Devuni kadapa and In Tirumala, Malayappaswamy is decorated on Rathasaptami – along with Sridevi and Bhudevi are paraded on seven chariots. Konark sun temple, Virinchi Narayana Temple (Odisha) and Modhera (Gujarat) are the famous sun temples. Special pujas are performed on the occasion of Rathasaptami in these temples.
Rathasaptami celebrations at Tirumala Temple 2023:
It begins with Suryaprabha Vahanam in the morning and ends with Chinnaseshavahanam, Garudavahanam, Hanuman Vahanam, Charasananam, Kalpavriksha Vahanam, Sarvabhupala Vahanam and ends with Chandraprabha Vahanam. Lord Venkateswara will bless the devotees for about an hour in each vehicle on the streets of Tirumala.
There are 7 types of vehicles in temple streets (Madavedhulu)
- 06:00 am on Suryaprabha vahanam
- 09:00 am in a small vahanam
- 11:00 am on Garuda vahanam
- 01:00 pm in Hanumantha vahanam
- 04:00 pm on Kalpa Vriksha vahanam
- 06:00 pm in Suryaprabha vahanam
- 08:00 pm in Chandra Prabha Vahanam
RathaSaptami celebrations at Devuni kadapa 2023
28-01-2023,RathaSaptami Darshan at Morning, Ratharohana/ Rathotsavam starts at 04:00 pm from Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Swamy temple. Rathotsavam was held in a great manner in this temple.
RathaSaptami Date & Time:
Generally RathaSaptami falls on the second day following the celebration of Shri panchami Or Vasantha panchami in Magha Masam, the time from February to March. According to the Telugu Calendar RathaSaptami date on 2023 is,
RathaSaptami 2023 Date : 28th January 2023, Saturday
Saptami Thiti starts at :09:05 on 27th January
Saptami Thiti Ends at : 08:45 on 28th January
