Raja Parba, the festival of Odisha that celebrates womanhood and the earth, is held for three days in which month?

Raja Parba (Raja festival) is a three-day festival of Odisha, held in mid-June, at the beginning of the monsoon, around Mithuna Sankranti, when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Gemini. It celebrates womanhood and the fertility of the earth.

According to belief, during these three days Mother Earth (Bhudevi), regarded as the wife of Lord Vishnu, undergoes her menstruation, just as a woman does, and prepares for the coming season of growth and fertility with the arrival of the monsoon rains. The word "Raja" comes from "rajaswala", meaning a menstruating woman. During this time, the earth is given rest: no ploughing, sowing or digging is done, and people avoid walking barefoot on the earth.

The three days of the festival are:

• Pahili Raja, the first day.
• Mithuna Sankranti (Raja Sankranti), the second day.
• Bhuin Daha or Basi Raja, the third day.
• On the fourth day, called Vasumati Snana, the earth is given a ceremonial bath, and the grinding stone, which represents Mother Earth, is bathed with turmeric paste and worshipped.

During Raja, girls and young women take a break from household work. They wear new clothes and traditional jewellery, apply alta (red dye) on their feet, and spend their time playing on decorated swings (ram doli, chakri doli and others) tied to trees, singing traditional Raja songs. Special cakes, such as poda pitha (a baked rice cake), are prepared and shared. Men take part in games and sports. The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm, especially in the coastal districts of Odisha.

Why not the other options?

• ✗March is the month of Holi (Dola Purnima in Odisha).
• ✗September is the month of Nuakhai.
• ✗December is not the month of Raja Parba.