Dol Purnima, also popularly known as Dol Jatra, Dola Jatra, Doul Utsav or Deul, is a Hindu swing festival celebrated during the

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

festival of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, Braj region,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, and

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

. This festival is dedicated to the divine couple of

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. It is usually celebrated on the full moon night or fifteenth day of the Falgun month mainly by Gopal community.

Etymology and references in literature

Hindu literature is replete with references of terms like ''Dolotsava'' and ''Dola Yatra''. '' Garga Samhita'', a Vaishnav text has reference to ''Dolotsava'' of Shri Krishna in the month of Chaitra. The

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word ''Dola'' means a swing, while ''utsava'' means a festival or a feast. Hence, ''Dolotsava'' literally means swing festival or swing feast and refers to religious service of swinging the idol of a deity on a swing. Similarly, word ''Dola Yatra'' is compound of two Sanskrit words: ''Dola'' and ''yatra'' . ''Yatra'' refers to procession and thus ''Dola'' ''yatra'' refers to swing procession.

Significance

Radha Vallabha Sampradaya

This festival is also celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm in Radha Vallabh Sampradaya and Haridasi Sampradaya where the idols of

Radha Krishna Radha-Krishna (IAST , ) is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and ''shakti'' Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God and gender in Hinduism, God, in several Krishnaism, Kr ...

are worshipped and offered colours and flowers to commence the festivities.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...

, this festival is further more significant as it was the day when

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...

, its founder, was born.

Celebration

On this auspicious day, the murtis of Krishna and his beloved Radha are richly adorned and besmeared with coloured powder. In Braj,

and

, the murtis of

are taken out in procession in a swinging palanquin, decorated with

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

, coloured

clothes Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

s. The procession proceeds forward to the accompaniment of music, blaring of conch shells, trumpets horn and shouts of joy or victory and 'Hôri Bola'. In the region of

, the festival is marked by singing songs, like "''Phaku khele korunamoy''" by the 16th Century Assamese poet Madhavdev, especially at the Barpeta Satra. The 15th century saint, artist and social reformer Srimanta Sankardev celebrated Doul at Bordowa in Nagaon, Assam. The festival also includes playing with colours made usually from flowers traditionally. In South India, the '' kirtan'' compositions of the 15th century poet, Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are sung in the evening. Dolotsavam is celebrated on Holika Purnima at Suryanarayan Swamy temple at Arasavalli,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

*Verma, Vanish (2002). '' Fasts and Festivals of India''. New Delhi: Diamond Pocket Books.

External links

*Bhatt,S. C., Bhargava, Gopal K. (2006
''Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories In 36 Volumes. Orissa · Volume 21''
Kalpaz Holi March observances Hindu festivals Bengali festivals Hindu festivals in India Spring festivals in India Religious festivals in India Traditions involving fire Festivals in Assam