Ugadi Pickle – Health Producer
Vedic Dharma mentions that Health plays a prominent role in attaining ‘Dharmarda Kama Moksha’ and food is the main source of protecting our health. Ayurvedic volumes made it clear that our body gets nurtured through food but at the same time, diseases also rise through food.
Our ancestors created a sense of piousness in the food that we eat in our daily routine and also cultivated a tradition of using the medicated mixture in the food that is offered to God during festivals, and spiritual and celestial ceremonies.
According to the Telugu calendar, the day of Ugadi is considered one of the auspicious days and the beginning of a new year. It is well remembered for its (Pacchadi) pickle which is a mixture of six tastes – sweet, sour, salty, spice, pungent & bitter.
Ugadi pickle is called ‘Nimbakusuma Bhakshanam’ or Ashoka Kalikaaprasam. Seasonal changes affect our health usually (like vata, pitta, Kafa and many others).
So, according to our tradition, it is very essential to take some medicated mixture like Ugadi pickle. Just as the changes occur in seasons, changes take place in every being naturally. Most of the diseases spread, while the season changes from ‘Sisira’ to ‘Vasantha’ (winter season to spring season).
To reduce and control the spreading of diseases, the custom of making Ugadi pickles on the festival day has been practised. Ugadi comes in the month of Chaitra Masam (Mostly the month of March / April according to the English calendar). There is a slow rise in temperature, heat and suffocation in this month.
The purpose of celebrating this festival is to understand the healthy practices that prevent diseases from spreading. This festival also suggests us to be optimistic and conveys the message to accept success or failure, good or bad and win or lose with equanimity.
Preparing Ugadi Pickle according to our tradition
To prepare Ugadi pickle, use neem flowers that are separated from their twigs as the first part, take raw mango pieces as the second part, the third part is the pepper powder, Tamarind grave is the fourth part (in olden days either tamarind grave or gooseberry was used), and use salt & jaggery as the fifth and sixth part.
Mix all the ingredients in an earthen bowl with water that is required to make a pickle and eat it on an empty belly on the day of the festival chanting the sloka given below.
Sathaaya vajra Deihaya sarva
sampthkaraayacha!
Sarvarishta vinasaya nimbakam dala bakshanam”
It is said in the books that Ugadi pickle is also useful to win over the six vices – lust, anger, greed, pride, arrogance and foolhardiness.
In the olden days, Ugadi pickle is eaten daily from Chaitra Suddha Paadyami to Pournami i.e., from the day of Ugadi to Sri Rama Navami so that it increases the immunity of the body and fight the diseases the whole year.
6 ingredients of Ugadi pickle
The six ingredients of Ugadi pickle produce six different tastes and medicinal uses.
- Neem flowers produce a bitter taste. Neem flowers kill bacteria, purify the blood and prevent skin diseases.
- Raw mango produces digestive juices and raises the hungry. This is very tasty to the mouth buds. It promotes the working process of the liver. Raw mangoes produce a pungent taste.
- Tamarind produces a sour taste. It cleans the intestines and creates interest in food. Gives taste to the mouth.
- Jaggery produces a sweet taste. Jaggery increases happiness and pacifies the mind. It protects us from anaemia. It provides instant energy and also increases the immunity of our body.
- Pepper produces spice. Pepper is good for reducing asthma, cough & breathe problems. It not only kills harmful bacteria but helps to energize the blood with the food taken by us.
- And finally salt gives the taste of salty. Salt energizes the body and produces taste. It solves the digestive problems and reduces the stomach pain.
Some people in some places add other ingredients like cardamom, cumin seeds, cashew nuts, ajwain, slices of banana, sugarcane slices, rock candy, palm jaggery and turmeric. Those are only added ingredients to the pickle but are not suggested according to the tradition.
Whatever the method of preparing the Ugadi pickle, the purpose of the festival is to remind us of the way of using and protecting health with the raw food ingredients that are available in nature.
