Dashain: Biggest Festival in Nepal

Dashain, the biggest, the longest and the most auspicious festival in Nepal is celebrated in the month Kartik of Bikram Sambat (late September and early October). The festival is celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the country. The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon. Through out the kingdom of Nepal the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual holy bathing, thus drenching the goddess for days in blood.

Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons. One of the victory stories told is the Ramayan, where the lord Ram after a big struggle killed Ravana, the cruel king of demons. According to the story, he got victory only after evoking goddess Durga. The main celebration glorifies the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon Mahisasur, who had been terrorising the earth in the guise of a brutal water buffalo. The first nine days signify the nine days of ferrous battle between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day when Mahisasur was slain and the last five days symbolise the celebration of the victory with the blessing of the goddess. Dashain is celebrated with great rejoice, and goddess Durga is worshiped throughout the kingdom as the divine mother goddess.

People clean their home, beautifully decorate and paint to invite the mother goddess at their home and get blessed the house with good fortune. The festival is also known for reunion of distant and nearby relatives. Thousands of sheep, goats, ducks, chicken and water buffalo are prepared for sacrificing.

The first nine days of Dashain are called Nawa Ratri when tantric rites are conducted. In Nepal the life force is embodied in the divine energy and power of the female, depicted as goddess Durga in her many forms. All goddess who emanated from goddess Durga are known as devis, each with different aspects and powers. In most mother goddess temples a sacred Kalash, carved water jug or multiple handed goddess holding murderous weapons simply represents the deity. During these nine days people pay their homage to the goddess. Mother goddess is the source of life and everything. There is a belief that properly worshipping of the goddess drives to good fortunes while improper treating may cause misfortunes in the life.

The first day of Dashain is Ghatasthapana, which literally means pot establishing. On this day the kalash, (holy water vessel) symbolising goddess Durga often with her image embossed on the side is placed in the prayer room. The kalash is filled with holy water and covered with cowdung on to which seeds are sown. A small rectangular sand block is made and the kalash is put in the centre. The surrounding bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The ghatasthapana ritual is performed at a certain auspicious moment determined by the astrologers. A priest or a household man worships the kalash everyday once in the morning and then in the evening. The kalash and the sand are sprinkled with holy water everyday and it is shielded from direct sunlight. By the tenth day, the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass. The sacred yellow grass is called 'Jamara'. It is bestowed by the elders atop the heads of those younger to them during the last five days when tika is put on. The jamara is taken as a token of Goddess Durga as well as the elders blessing.

As days passes by regular rituals are observed till the seventh day. The seventh day is called 'Fulpati'. In fulpati, the royal kalash filled with holy water, banana stalks, jamara and sugar cane tied with red cloth is carried by Brahmans on a decorated palanquin. With this the Dashain feasting starts. Day next to Fulpati is Maha Asthami. On this day many orthodox Hindus go on holy fasting. Sacrifices are held in most of the house through out the day. The night of the eighth day is called 'Kal Ratri', the dark night. Hundreds of goats, sheep and buffaloes are sacrificed at the mother goddess temples. The sacrifice continues till dawn. The ninth day of the festival is Nawami. Temples of mother goddess are filled with people from dawn till dusk. Animals mostly black buffaloes are sacrificed to goddess Durga and might and to seek her blessing. On this very day the god Vishwa Karma, the God of creativity is also worshiped. All factories, vehicles, any machinery instruments and anything from which we make a living are worshiped and give sacrifices to get the blessing from goddess Durga for protection for vehicles and their occupants against accidents during the year.

The tenth day is Dashami. On this day younger people make visit to their elders to take tika and jamara from our elders and receive their blessing. The importance of Dasain also lies in the fact that on this day family members from far off and distant relatives come for a visit as well as to receive tika from the head of the family. This function continues for four days. After four days of rushing around and meeting relatives Dashain ends on the full moon day, the fifteenth day, also called 'Kojagrata'. On this day, the Hindu goddess of wealth Laxmi is worshipped.

After Dashain everyone settles back to normal. After receiving the blessing of goddess Durga, people are ready to work and acquire virtue, power and wealth. Dashain thus is not only the longest festival but also the most anticipated one among all the festivals of Nepal.

Reference:

• Karki,A. “Dashain Festival in Nepal”, www.visitnepal.com/nepal_information/dashain.php
• Karki, A. “Dashain”, www.info-nepal.com/society/festivals/dashain.html

Teej

This "Teej" is a small red insect that comes out of the soil during rains. Teej is a fasting festival of women in Nepal that falls on month of Shravan (August). The celebration of this festival is for marital bliss, well being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul.

Traditionally, the ritual of Teej is obligatory for all Hindu married women and girls who have reached puberty. According to the holy books, the Goddess Parbati fasted and prayed fervently for the great Lord Shiva to become her spouse. Touched by her devotion, he took her for his wife. Since then, Hindu women started to celebrate this festival.

The festival is celebrated for three-days. The first day of Teej is called the "Dar Khane Din". On this day the women, both married and unmarried, assemble at one place and start dancing and singing devotional songs on till midnight. The second day is the fasting day. Some women live without a morsel of food and drops of water while others take liquid and fruit. On the day, they wear red dresses and visit a nearby Shiva temple singing and dancing on the way. A large number of devotees visit to Pashupatinath temple. They perform puja offering flowers, fruits etc to Shiva and Parbati, beseeching their blessing upon the husband and family. The devotees light the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night. If the light dies away, it could be bad omen.

The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. Women perform final ritual of Teej paying homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. After it, women are considered absolved from all sins.

References:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teej
• http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/festivals/teej.html

Gokarna Aunsi

Father is specially paid lot of reverence as the pillar of strength and support of family on the day of Gokarna Aunsi. The day is also known as Kuse Aunsi. It falls on the dark fortnight in the month August/ September.

On the day, ones children, staying nearer or farther, come with presents and show their gratitude and appreciation for his guidance and teaching in their life. Married daughters visit to their parent's home with delicacies. After the offering of gifts, they touch their father's feet with their foreheads , this act of veneration is done by the sons only , the daughters touch the hand. The ceremony is also known as "looking upon father's face".
People with or without fathers visited to shrine at Gokarna village and worship the Gokarneswor Mahadev, a sacred shrine of lord Shiva , renowned for his singularly close communion with the souls of dead. The fatherless people honour the memory of their fathers and promote welfare of his soul here.

Reference:

• http://www.info-nepal.com/society/festivals/gokarnaaunsi.html
• http://homestaynepal.come/festival.html

Shree Krishna Janmastmi

Shree Krishna Janmastami is marked as the birthday of God Shree Krishna in Nepal. The day is also known as Krishna Jayanti or Janmastami. God Krishna is worshipped as the 8^th 'incarnation' of Vishnu.

His life is filled with numerous dangers over which he ultimately gained victory. The stories of how he killed, one after the other, all the demonic adversaries- Pootana, Shakata, Agha, Dhenuka, Bakaa, Keshi, Kansa, Shishupala, Jarasandha etc. - has made him the peerless savior of mankind. God Krishna has an important role in Mahabharat as well.

On the day, all the devotees assemble in Krishna Mandir, the ancient Krishna Temple in Patan Durbar Square and other temples with the idol of Sri Krishna and offer prayers, flowers, food, sweets and chant hymns too.

Gai Jatra

Gai Jatra (The procession of cows) is a festival celebrated in the Nepalese month of Bhadra (August-September). This festival of cow has its roots in the ancient age when people feared and worshipped the god of death, Yamaraj. Neverthless, the festival came into tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign of Malla Kings. The root of this festival is the belief that the god of death, Yamaraj, must be feared and hence worshopped. Hence, the present form of Gai Jatra is a happy blending of antiquity and medievalism.

On the day, every family who has lost one relative during the past year participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as cow is considered a fair substitute. In Hinduism, a cow is regarded as the most venerated among all the domestic animals. It is believed that the cow, revered as a holy animal by Hindus, will help the deceased relative's journey to heaven.

There is a comical aspect to the festival. Humorous and satirical street shows of the people in power are performed in major towns of the country.

Many newspapers also publish special editions with humorous and satirical articles marking the Gaijatra festival.

In this festival, irregularities of the society are exposed through satirical means.

Reference:

• http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/festivals/gaijatra.html

• http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2006/aug/aug10/news01.php

One festival: Three Names (Gunupunhi, Rishi Tarpani and Janai Purnima)

Nepal is ‘The land of festival’ which have religious, cultural, social, educational, and economical character. The festival falls on the full moon day of Shrawan and is celebrated by both Hindus and the Buddhists is known by several names such as Gunupunhi, Rishi-Tarpani, Raksha-Bandhan etc.

Janai Purnima, the Sacred Thread Festival, is for Hindu men specially Bhramhans and Chettris who performs their annual change of Janai. Janai is is the symbol of being manhood and during religious ceremony called ‘Bratabandhan’, the thread is given only to males. From the day onwards, one must wear this Janai. Triple strings of Janai are the symbol of body, speech and mind. Therefore the wearer is supposed to gain complete control over each.

The wearer of Janai makes himself clean by shaving, cutting hair and bathing on the preceding day and undergoes partial fast avoiding meat, onion and garlic. Next morning, family priest performs a ceremony to sanctify the new thread reading from a holy book and place it about the recipient's neck across the chest.

The day is also called ‘Raksha Bandhan’. On the day, people wear sacred yellow thread around the wrist. The males tie the thread on the right and women on their left wrist. Raksha means ‘Protection’ and Bandhan means ‘Bond’. The thread is removed after three months on day of ‘Laxmi Puja’ and tie to the tail of a cow with the belief that it will help to cross the river Bhaiarna when death comes. On the morning of Raksha Bandhan, Brahman ties yellow thread around the buyers’ wrist intoning a quick prayer.

In Newar communities, the festival is also celebrated eating “Kwati”, a soup of nine different beans that is very nutritious and tasty. In terai, the day is celebrated as the day of brothers and sisters. Sisters offer “Rakhi” to brothers and brothers offers gift.

Thousands of people worship lord Shiva on this day. Religious fairs are held in Kumbheswor, Baraha Chhetra and Gosaikunda, among other places.

Photo source: www.nepalnews.com