Janai Purnima

Janai Purnima

Janai purnima is celebrated in the month of Shrawan. Janai purnima is also known as sacred thread festival. In this festival, Hindu men, especially Brahmin and Chhetri  perform their annual change of Janai and all who celebrates this festival put a scared thread around their wrist.

A day before Janai purnima the persons wearing janai should make themselves clean by shaving or cutting hair and take a good bath. They undergo a partial fasting, taking only one meal of foods considered to be 'clean' - no meat, no onions or garlic. Before big event Hindus prefer to clean their body by keeping fasting. Satvic food is prescribed for all Hindu ritual and festival. 

In the Purnima morning, men usually go to rivers and ponds nearby, to take secret bath dipping himself thrice in the water. Men, then change their Janai and break the old ones.  

However in cities, the family priest comes to the residence. The entire family gathers around pandit as he reads the stories from a holy book and performs a ceremony, which purifies the new thread, and places it about the men’s neck across the chest. Also, other members of the family wears a sacred thread called 'dori' around their wrist. In a payment the priest is given foodstuffs and monies. The money is called Dakshina and other stuff are called Daan in Sanskrit.