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Also known as Pushpadolotsav - Festival of Flowers, it is celebrated
on the day after Holi, on Fagun
Vad 1.
Origin
Once Arjun accompanied Shri Krishna to Raivatachal - Mt.Girnar. Here
the Lord pleased the Yadavas with divine sports. In turn, to please
him, the joyous Yadavas made a swing of flowers. They then seated Shri
Krishna and Arjun on the hindolo (swing), performed pujan
and swung the hindolo. Henceforth the two became renowned as
Nar-Narayan and the Pushpadolotsav came into being.
Import
By performing actions in accordance to the rules of Dharma, to please
the Lord, the devotee symbolically brings the Lord nearer his heart.
This is akin to pulling the hindolo swing towards himself. When
the devotee falters in his devotion, the Lord moves away, symbolised
by the swing moving away. Therefore the devotee strives to offer better
bhakti, which results in the Lord's incessant proximity.
Ritual
Devotees construct a hindolo of flowers, instal the Lord's murti
and swing Him. They also spray colored water on each other.
On Fuldol, people traditionally offer fagwaa roasted chick
peas (chana), dates and popcorn to God and partake of the prasad.
In the Swaminarayan Sampraday, the women devotees of north Gujarat requested
Bhagwan Swaminarayan for unique fagwaa in the Fuldol of Samvat
1868 (1812 CE), in Sarangpur. It comprised lofty sentiments in the form
of a prayer to be delivered from maya:
Maha balvant maya tamaari, jene aawariya narnaari...
The prayer, versified by Nishkulanand Swami in the Bhaktachintamani
(ch.64), is sung regularly even today.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan celebrated Fuldol in many different places during
His period. Of these, the two most prominent were in Samvat 1872 (1816
CE), in Vartal and in Samvat 1868 (1812 CE), in Sarangpur. Pramukh
Swami Maharaj celebrates this festival on a huge scale in Sarangpur
in Saurashtra, with devotion and fervor.
In the Swaminarayan Sampradaya's shikharbaddh mandirs, Fuldol
is traditionally celebrated with immense fervor after the Rajbhog
Arti, around 11 a.m. A water hose attached to Bhagwan Swaminarayan's
murti in the central shrine sprays colored and fragrant water on the
devotees. Besides being solaced they feel spiritually charged in being
graced with sanctified water by God.
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