Dashain (Durga Puja) – The Biggest Hindu Festival

‘Dashain’, also known as ‘Dasheraa’/’Vijaya Dashami’/’Badaa Dashai’Nepal’s is the grandest annual festival celebrated by the Hindus all over the world. The timing of the festival is just perfect as it takes place right after the post monsoon period when the sky is clearest and the air the cleanest. Against such a merrily backdrop, the festivity commences as people gear up for spending their hard earned money on probably the year’s grandest shopping that includes new clothes and food (especially mutton). The festival is also marked by the largest scale animal sacrifice to please the Hindu diety, “Goddess Durga”, which happens to be the core ritual of the festival. Celebrating Goddess Durga’s victory over the forces of evil, thousands of goats and buffaloes (which represent the demon “Mahisasura” who is believed to have been killed by the goddess) are slaughtered in all the Goddess Durga shrines across the country. One should not however assume ‘Dashain’ as an atrocious festival that promotes the bloodbath of the innocent animals. This is a part of ritual that has been being pursued since the hoary antiquity. Besides, Dashain is also marked by family get-togethers as people gather up in their ancestral homes to receive Tika (rice grain mixed with red color and curd; tika is put by elders on the foreheads of their juniors) and blessings. The family members also indulge in a friendly gambling which further sparks up the celebration. The festival of “Dashian” constitutes ten days in total. Although each day has its own mythological significance, the first, eighth and the tenth days are considered to be more important ones. On the first day, known as “Ghatasthapana”, barely seeds are planted in a carefully furrowed soil. By the tenth day, these seeds grown into a plant which is called “Jamaraa”. The elders when putting tika to their juniors tuck the jamaraas also place the jamaraas on their heads. So, tika and jamaraa happen to a symbol of the love and blessings that people receive from their elders. On the seventh day known as “ Fulpaati (‘Sacred Flowers’), a jar of flowers is carried from the Gorkha district to the Tundikhel parade ground in Kathmandu, where it is presented to the head of the state. The flowers, which symbolise Taleju, the goddess of the royal family, are transported on a palanquin to Hanuman Dhoka, the former Royal Palace. The eighth day, ‘Maha Astami’ (‘Great Eighth Day’), ends with Kala Ratri (‘Black Night’), when the sacrifices and offerings to Durga begin. At midnight, in a temple courtyard near Durbar Square, eight buffaloes and 108 goats are beheaded, each with a single stroke of the traditional sword. Visitors can witness this ritual one needs to arrive early to secure a place. As a part of the tradition, blood is sprinkled on car wheels to ensure a safe year on the road. This is the day when all the Goddess Durga shrines across the country are literally drenched in blood. On the 10th and the final day, known as “Vijaya Dashami”, the celebration is more sublime as it happens to be a family occasion more than anything else. People gather in their ancestral home to receive “Tika and Jamara” from their elders. In the evening, processions and masked dances take place throughout the Kathmandu Valley to herald the end of Dashain. For the Kharga Jatra (sword procession), priests dress up as Hindu gods and carry wooden swords, symbolizing the weapon Durga slew Mahisasura with. Like India’s Dussehra festival, the day also celebrates Lord Rama’s victory over the 10-headed demon-king Ravana. The barley sprouts that were planted on the first day (Jamaraa) are picked and worn as small bouquets in the hair. Kartika Purnima, the full-moon day marking the end of the festival, is celebrated with gambling in many households. Even the children get involved, putting down a few rupees on games of chance.

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