This is the first day of spring in India (Northern Hemisphere). On the fifth day of the waxing moon one should celebrate the coming of spring to Vrndavana by offering Krishna many types of leaves and flowers, and fresh shoots of sprouting grasses. Things that symbolise life and new growth.
Following in the footsteps of the Vraja-basis of Vrindavana, one should paint designs on His (Krishna’s) body and perform a special aratrika for Him. It is appropriate to offer yellow flowers too.
The vasanta raga should be played on this day. The Deities in the temples, especially in Vrindavana wear yellow or yellow-green on this day.
In places like Vrindavan, Mayapur, Jagannath Puri and Udupi many of the women folk dress in yellow also. As it is the first day of spring many fertility rites are performed at this time – for the family, for the women folk, for the crops, for the cows, etc. It’s a very festive time.
Note:: Special thanks to Jaya Tirtha Caran prabhu from NZ for allowing us to use some of the content from his site to compile these pages.