Raja Parba, also known as Mithuna Sankranti, is a _______ -day-long festival of womanhood celebrated in Odisha, India.
- A.five
- B.six
- C.four
- D.three
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, three. Raja Parba is Odisha's three-day festival of womanhood held in mid-June, when the sun enters Mithuna (Gemini). The three days are Pahili Raja, Raja Sankranti or Mithuna Sankranti, and Basi Raja, and a ritual bath of Mother Earth, Vasumati Snana, closes it on the fourth morning. The word Raja comes from 'rajaswala', a menstruating woman: Bhudevi, Mother Earth, is believed to menstruate during these days, so no ploughing or digging is done, and unmarried girls rest, wear new clothes, play on rope swings and eat poda pitha. It marks the onset of the monsoon and the coming farming season. Option A is wrong because five is not the count of Raja days; the festival is not a five-day affair. Option B is wrong because six days belong to no Raja tradition. Option C is wrong because the fourth day, Vasumati Snana, is only a closing bath and the festival itself is counted as three days. Exam tip: Raja Parba = Odisha, three days, Mithuna Sankranti in June, swings and poda pitha.
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