Happy Holi 2019: Puja Vidhi, Puja Samagri, Holika Dahan Timings in India

Holi is the festival we all look forward to. A big splash of colours and traditionally prepared food items and sweets, Holi marks the welcoming of spring and the celebration of good over evil. Holi, or Holika which falls on March 21 this year is widely celebrated in the Northern regions of the country. Holika Dahan , which falls a day before, on March 20, is a traditionally important ritual which resonates the fact that evil cannot prevail for a long time.

On Holika Dahan, a puja is held and a holy bonfire is lit to offer prayers to the deity and seek blessings. Traditionally, it is believed that when you offer items such as coconuts, peanuts, rice, flowers as offerings, it brings back good wishes and blessings for the worshippers. Hence, celebrating Holika Dahan holds a good deal of importance and there are certain rituals and methods you should follow while conducting the pooja to please the deity. Here are a few important details to keep in mind:

Puja Vidhi
Since Holika Dahan is very pious, you should make sure to follow certain rituals and traditions to get the maximum benefits and blessings:

-Make sure to have a bath and wear clean clothes before starting the puja.

-Face towards the East. If you don’t have a temple facing the east direction, you can place a photo or a small idol on some alter and decorate it with flowers.

-Keep all the pooja items near the altar and then apply abeer-gulal on the face of the idol and the feet as well.

-Light incense and keep some tulsi leaves near the puja offerings. Then offer the ghee , gangajal and then the gulal.

-One must offer the items by circling them around the picture of the divine couple seven times.

-The ganjajal should be sprinkled on everyone and gulal should be applied on everyone’s face as prasad as a means to get divine blessings.

Puja Samagri
For the pooja, you will need the following items:

-An idol or a picture
-Abeer and gulaal of different colours
-Ghee made out of cow’s milk

-Cotton wicks, lamps (made out of earthen mud or metal)
-Gangaajal
-Incense or Itra (For worship)
-Tulsi leaves
-Sandalwood paste
-Haldi-kumkum
-Tilak offerings
-Mishri

Holika Dahan Timings
Holika Dahan and pooja should be done at certain specific timings which are decided according to the Hindu calendar. The date and time (tithi) usually happen after the sunset. However, the exact timings and date differ from state to state.

This year, the date and timings are as follows:

Holika Dahan Timing 2019 - 20:57 to 24:28+ hours
Holika Dahan Duration - 3 Hour 30 Mins
Bhadra Punchha - 17:23 to 18:24 hours
Bhadra Mukha - 18:24 to 20:07 hours

Here is wishing everybody a Happy Holi!