Pumpkin Facts: Pandit Dayanand Pandey of Kashi explains that Kumhra (Pumpkin), coconut are some such fruits which are the representations of sacrifice in the sattvik worship of Sanatan Dharma.
Pumpkin: Kumdha, Pumpkin, Kasifal… There are many other names for this.
Pumpkin means pumpkin. It has many more names. Somewhere it is called Kashiphal, somewhere Kumhada, somewhere Makhna, Bhatwa and somewhere else. Many types of folk beliefs are also associated with it. In Ayurveda, it has been given importance as a medicinal fruit. A special day has also been fixed for this vegetable with all kinds of specialties. World Kumhra Day is celebrated in the same month on 29th September.
Especially in many areas of Chhattisgarh, Kumhra is seen with great respect. Especially in the villages of Bastar, Kumhra is compulsorily planted. Villagers plant pottery by making scaffolding in their yard or at home. Kumhra is usually grown for vegetable purposes only, but it has many other commercial uses. You will see potholes on the roof of many houses or on the sticks of trees on thatch.
Women don’t cut pumpkin directly
In many homes, women do not cut the pumpkin. For this the help of male member is taken. First the men cut the pumpkin or cut it into two pieces, after that the women cut it for vegetables. Do you know why this is so? Why do women avoid cutting pumpkins? There is a folk belief in many parts of the country that women treat pumpkin, kashifal or kumhada as their elder son and therefore avoid cutting it.
Cutting means sacrificing the eldest son
Kumhra also has mythological significance in the Hindu community. In many religious rituals where animal sacrifices are not performed, pumpkin is considered as a symbol of the animal and it is sacrificed. There is also a folk belief that Kumhra is considered to be the eldest son. In many states including Chhattisgarh, women of tribal community cannot even think of cutting it.
It is believed that the intention of a woman to cut a pumpkin will be like sacrificing her eldest son. That’s why the women here get a man to get two pieces of pumpkin first and then they make small pieces of two big pieces for the vegetable.
Recognition in Sanatan tradition also
Pandit Dayanand Pandey of Kashi explains that Kumhra (pumpkin), coconut are some such fruits which are the representation of sacrifice in the sattvik worship of Sanatan Dharma. In the Sanatan tradition, woman is the creator, not the destroyer. She gives birth, is the birth mother and the one who is the mother, she does not sacrifice even symbolically.
Pumpkin is not harvested alone
It is also a tradition in many parts of the country that Pumpkin or Pumpkin is never cut alone. Often, either two kumhada are cut together or if only one kumhada has to be cut, then another vegetable is kept together to pair it. In many homes, a lemon, chilli or potato is used with pumpkin.
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