Watch Laxmi Purana at Zee Sarthak every Thursday
Bhubaneswar: Zee Sarthak the No 1 entertainment channel of the state always tried to showcase entertainment-based programs and series which respects the traditions and customs of the Odisha home.
Continuing that tradition Zee Sarthak on the occasion of Mānabasā Gurubāra, presents New show Lakshmi Purana which viewers can watch live on every Thursday at 5.00 am, 7.00 am and 3.00 pm.
The Lakshmi Purana is an Odia text written in the 15th century by Balarama Dasa, a major poet of Odia literature Despite its name, it is not one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism, having been written in the medieval era as a piece of regional literature that discusses gender and social norms.
The text tells the story of The goddess Lakshmi who embarks on a journey outside her shrine of Puri, observing that many were heedless of the fact that it was a holy occasion dedicated to her. Taking the disguise of a Brahmin woman, she offers instructions to a rich trader’s wife regarding rituals for her worship. Crossing the bounds of the city, she sees Shriya, a poor, outcaste woman who offers the goddess her worship with rituals, conducted with cleanliness and devotion. Pleased, Lakshmi manifests herself inside Shriya’s house and blesses her.
Upon her return to the temple, her husband Jagannath and Balarama refuse her entry on the grounds that she had besmirched herself by entering the house of the outcaste woman. Lakshmi refuses to perform the purification ceremony before entering the temple. She removes her expensive jewellery with the exception of her marital ornaments and leaves in a huff, cursing the brothers by depriving them of her presence that brought well-being and prosperity. Aghast, the brothers take the form of Brahmin mendicants and beg for food from household to household, not receiving any. Finally, they arrive at the newly built house for Lakshmi, where they are informed that it was the house of an outcaste. Relenting, the brothers consent to eat the food prepared by the outcastes and submit to Lakshmi’s demands of egalitarianism, recognition of her holy days, and their promotion of communal eating for members of the highest Brahmin to the lowest Chandala. Lakshmi reunites with the gods in the temple at the end.
The popular actress of the channel Smrutirekha, Ananya and Ankita will cover and read the story from Lakshmi Purana. The story will be presented will acting on screen by different characters.
Pratik Seal, Chief Channel Officer of Zee Sarthak urged people to stay connected with their culture and traditions by watching this special programme.
In Odisha, Lakshmi Purana is considered as a sacred text in every household. In several parts of Odisha, and the neighboring regions in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the Srikakulam area of Andhra Pradesh, women perform a special one-month-long Lakshmi Puja in the Hindu month of Margasirsha or Agrahayana. The Lakshmi Puja (Mana osha) is celebrated weekly on every Thursday of that month, and mostly the females worship Goddess Lakshmi with all rituals.