Raja Festival of Odisha

Context: Odisha’s Raja Parba is not only relevant to the agricultural community but also celebrates womanhood and sustainable development.

Raja Parba/Festival

• Celebrates the menstrual cycle of Mother Earth for three days and prohibit activities like tilling, construction, or any other that hurts mother earth.

• Basumati Gaadhua (4th day when the menstrual cycle of earth ends) is a ritual of bathing stone replica mother Earth and praying for a prosperous agricultural year ahead.

Relevance of Raja Festival

• Promotes sustainable development along with the protection of nature (by acknowledging the mutual relation between nature and humans)
• Improve the women's menstrual hygiene and liberate them from societal taboo or burden (by celebrating the menstrual cycle).

• Women's menstrual hygiene results in a higher dropout rate of girls.
• Unequal access to the temple.

• Promotes SDG’s of the United Nations for protection of earth through climate action (by not hurting Earth for 3 days).
• Women’s liberation and menstrual hygiene are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of gender justice for women. 

Conclusion: Recognising the practical and philosophical dimensions of festivals is essential for a sustainable universe and egalitarian society.