Samba Dashami is one of the many unique festivals of Odisha. It falls on the fortnight of the waxing moon between December and January. As Odia calendar doesn’t follow dates but the phases of the moon.
The history behind this festival revolves around a legend. According to which, ‘Samba’ the son of Lord Krishna, was afflicted by leprosy.
He spent 12 years worshipping to Lord Surya (Sun) at Konark. One day miraculously the lord was happy with his devotion, and cured him.
Samba Dashami Rituals
Every year on this day, the women in every Odia family wake up before sunrise. They bathe by the break of dawn and then prepare dishes like Khichdi, Odia Puri, and Ghadghadia Tarkari (a curry), and offer them to the Sun God at sunrise.
The variety of food can be observed being offered to the Sun god, on the name of each child of the home. That is so to please Lord Surya to keep their children safe from any disease or such harm.
These females of the house spend the rest of the day preparing more delicacies like Manda pitha, Kakara Pitha, Arisha Pitha, Biri ladoo, etc.
The dish they promise the previous year is what they make. This promise is called ‘Mansika’, for the whole year the Lord kept their kids away from any danger.
Right before sunset, a bowl full of turmeric water is taken to the open spaced sanctum. There the head lady of the family sees the face of the god (sun) in the turmeric water.
All the ladies then recite the legend of Samba as a prayer song and offer the dishes they prepared to the Lord.
Acknowledgement
This unique festival is only celebrated in Odisha. Although, whether in the form of ‘Pongal’ in Southern India or ‘Chhath’ in North-Eastern India, Lord Surya is worshipped with the same ideology all around the country.