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Vishwakarma Puja: Why Is It Celebrated?

Vishwakarma puja is a popular festival in the Eastern and Northern parts of India. Vishwakarma is believed to be the deity who is the main architect of the Universe. He is the son of the creator, Brahma and is the official architect of all the palaces where the Gods reside. He is also the designer of all the flying chariots of the Gods, and their weapons.

Since Vishwakarma is the God of architecture and engineering as per the Hindu scriptures, every year Hindus celebrate the Vishwakarma puja with great zeal. On this day the workers take a break from work and all the machines are worshipped. Vishwakarma puja is a resolution time for all the workers and craftsmen to increase their productivity. Also a time to gain an inspiration from the God to create novel things and think of novel ideas.

Vishwakarma Puja: Why Is It Celebrated?

Stories Associated With Vishwakarma Puja:

According to the Hindu mythology, Lord Vishwakarma is considered the Divine Architect or the 'Dev Shilpi'. The Rig Veda describes Vishwakarma as the God with multi-dimensional vision and supreme strength.

It is believed that most of the mythological architectures are the handiwork of Vishwakarma. He is believed to have been one of the gems born out of the churning of the ocean by the Gods and the demons, and is credited for creating the missiles that were used by the Gods in the mythological era. He is also the architect of the powerful weapon carried by Indra which is known as the Vajra.

According to the mythological stories, Lord Vishwakarma is also responsible for creating the most popular architecture of the time, the golden palace of Lanka for the demon king Raavan. The story goes that once Lord Shiva asked Vishwakarma to build a palace for Him and His divine consort Parvati. Vishwakarma was overwhelmed by the request and He created a palace made of gold.

For the housewarming ceremony of the palace, Lord Shiva invited the demon king, Raavan to perform the rituals. Raavan was totally smitten by the aura and the grandeur of the palace. So, when Lord Shiva asked him to ask anything as a return gift or 'Dakshina', Raavan asked Shiva for the golden palace itself. Lord Shiva was obliged to give away the palace as a return gift and hence the golden Lanka became Raavan's palace.

Similarly, there are many other popular mythological architectures which have been built by Vishwakarma. Some of them are the Indraprastha which was the grand palace of the Pandavas in Mahabharata, Dwarka which was the divine abode of Lord Krishna and Hastinapur or the abode of the Kauravas. All of these wonders are supposed to be created by Vishwakarma.

Hence Vishwakarma puja has its own importance in Hinduism. The God of architecture is appeased by worshipping the machines and vehicles. In some parts of India, people fly kites and mark the starting of the festive season in India.

Read more about: festivals hinduism