SSC
The Gangaur festival, celebrated in Rajasthan and central India, is associated with which goddess?
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Answer: Option C — Goddess Parvati
Detailed Solution
Gangaur is one of the most important festivals of Rajasthan and is also celebrated in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and parts of West Bengal. It is dedicated to Goddess Gauri (Parvati), the wife of Lord Shiva, who represents marital happiness, devotion and the season of spring.
The name Gangaur comes from "Gan", a name for Lord Shiva, and "Gaur" (Gauri), a name for Parvati. The festival celebrates the reunion of Shiva and Parvati and is a symbol of a happy married life. It begins on the day after Holi and continues for about 16 to 18 days, ending in the month of Chaitra (March-April).
Gangaur is celebrated mainly by women. Married women worship Gauri for the health, long life and well-being of their husbands, and unmarried girls pray for a good husband. Women make clay images of Gauri and Shiva (Isar), dress them in fine clothes and jewellery, and worship them every day with flowers, grass and water. They sing traditional Gangaur songs and fast on the final day. On the last days of the festival, colourful processions carry the images through the streets to a lake or well, where they are bid farewell, accompanied by music, dancing and decorated elephants and horses. The processions in Jaipur and Udaipur are especially famous. In Udaipur, the festival is celebrated at the Gangaur Ghat on Lake Pichola, with a boat procession.
Another festival of Rajasthan dedicated to Parvati is Teej, celebrated during the monsoon, which also honours her devotion to Shiva.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped at Diwali and on Sharad Purnima.
- ✗Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on Vasant Panchami.
- ✗Goddess Ganga is worshipped on Ganga Dussehra.
Quick tip
Remember: Gangaur = Gauri (Parvati) and Shiva, the month of Chaitra, Rajasthan, the womenfolk who celebrate it.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.