State PCS - Rajasthan (RAS)

• 03 Apr 2025

Gangaur Festival

Why in News? 

In Rajasthan, Gangaur Festival is celebrated every year on the Tritiya Tithi of Shukla Paksha of Chaitra month. This time Gangaur Festival was celebrated on 31 March 2025.  

Key Points 

• About the Festival: 
  • Gangaur is a major festival celebrated in different forms in Rajasthan, celebrated every year in the month of Chaitra (first month of Hindu calendar). 
    • "Gan" refers to Lord Shiva and "Gauri" or "Gaur" refers to Goddess Parvati. 
  • This festival is mainly celebrated by women, in which they worship Goddess Gauri and Lord Shiva to attain a happy married life, unbroken good fortune and the happiness of children. 
  • This festival reflects Rajasthani culture and the devotion of women towards their husbands.  
• Gangaur Dance: 
  • This is a famous folk dance of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh , in which girls hold each other's hands and move around in a circular circle, praying to Goddess Gauri for the long life of their husbands.  
  • The songs of this dance glorify and praise Shiva-Parvati, Brahma-Savitri and Vishnu-Lakshmi.

Hindu Solar Calendar (Shaka Samvat) 

• The zero year of Shaka Samvat is 78 AD. 
• It was started by the Shaka rulers to mark their victory over the Kushans . 
  • It is a solar calendar, with its date system based on the time it takes the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun, a seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days. 
• It was adopted as the official calendar by the Government of India in 1957 . 
• It has 365 days every year.