Festivals of Karnataka Dasara is the festival of celebrating women power. Chamundeshwari is the personification of courage, strength and power. Praying to her is believed to help one to be blessed with all these qualities, especially during Dasara. When the male gods failed to destroy the demon, it was the Devi who stood up to the occasion. All over India, Mahashivaratri occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna. On a moonless night in February every year, occurs the night of Shiva, the destroyer. This is the night when he is said to have performed the Tandava or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. It is believed that the creator of the Hindu pantheon, Lord Brahma started the work of creation on this day - Chaitra suddha padhyami or Ugadi day. Also the great Indian Mathematician Bhaskaracharya's calculations proclaimed this day as the start of a new year, new month and new day from sunrise. Ugadi is celebrated with festive fervor in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
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