Ratha Saptami 2021: Know the date, significance and history of this holy Hindu festival

Ratha Saptami is a significant festival for the Hindu community. For the year 2021, the festival is just around the corner. Read on to know more about Ratha Saptami 2021 date, history and significance. 

Ratha Saptami 2021 Date 

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As of this year, Ratha Saptami falls on Friday, February 19, 2021. The Snan Muhurat for Ratha Saptami is from 5:15 am to 7:00 am. The official tithi for Ratha Saptami begins at 8:17 am and end at 10:58 am on February 19, 2021, with a total duration of 102 minutes. Sunrise on Ratha Saptami will be at 6:56 on February 19. 

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Ratha Saptami History 

Ratha Saptami is a very holy Hindu festival which is observed on the Saptami Thithi (Seventh Day) of the Magha Shukla Paksh which refers to the bright 15-day phase of the Lunar cycle. As the mythology behind this festival goes, Lord Surya Dev (The Sun) started the process of enlightening the whole world with knowledge on the day of the original Ratha Saptami. Essentially, in Hindu mythology, it's considered to be the birthday of the Sun or as called in Hindi as Surya Jayanti or Magha Saptami. 

As per the western calendar, the date falls sometime in between the months of mid-January to February. Normally, Ratha Saptami falls on the second day following the celebrations of Shri Panchami or Vasant Panchami. Hindus have this belief that worshipping Lord Surya and fasting on Ratha Saptami can help fulfil your wishes and get rid of your earthly sins. 

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Ratha Saptami Significance 

On the auspicious day of Ratha Saptami, devotees get up before sunrise and take a holy bath in the river. People believe that taking a holy bath before sunrise on this occasion will get rid of illnesses and make a person healthy again. This is also the reason another popular name of this festival is 'Aarogya Saptami'. 

After the bath, people usually get together with their families to do the puja and offer prasad to the Sun God at the time of sunrise. People do aarti of the sun, offering flowers, candles and incense. People also recite the religious hymns of Gayatri Mantra and other prayers in honour and respect of the holy occasion. People also consider Ratha Saptami is a good time for donation activities (giving dan in the name of God) that also help cleanse the body of sins. 

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