Celebrating Dashain Festival In Nepal

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

Nepal is the only country in the world where Hindus and Buddhists celebrate numerous festivals together. Among the festivals, the most important festival is the Dashain or Dashami festival celebrated across the country twice a year. We, Nepalis celebrate this festival worshipping nine different Goddesses one each on the day and the night during the nine days called Navarat. The nine Goddesses are the different forms of the Goddesses of warrior, war, victory and the symbol of the source of Supreme Power called Goddess Durga Bhavani. We follow both the Vedic and Tantric rituals to make offerings to Goddess Durga Bhavani during the Dashain festival

Dashain is a festival for celebrating a victory of good over evil, the defeat of mythological demon called Mahi-sa-shur at the hands of the mighty Goddess Durga Bhavani. On that day, Durga Bhavani in nine different forms of Goddesses called Nava Durga Bhavani is worshipped in different parts of towns in the Kathmandu valley and across the country, and the neighboring Indian state Darjeeling. This festival starts on the first day of the waxing moon and last until the full moon day following the Nepalese calendar.

Our forefathers have set the tradition of worshiping female deities since Tantrism took roots in the Shakta Sect of Shaivinism, and in the Vajrayan sect of Mahayan Buddhism. The worship of a female deity attaches a great importance in the Tantric sect. There was a time when Tantriks made self-sacrifices and sacrificed other humans, too in the past. They replaced self-sacrifices with the animal sacrifices to the Goddesses. Thus, the meaning of offerings to Goddesses had undergone a sea change during the last millennium.

We celebrate Dashain festival revering Durga Bhavani better known as Taleju Bhavani, and Living Goddess Kumari twice a year. We celebrate this festival with great fanfare for two weeks during the bright fortnight of Aswin (Sept-Oct) and one-day in the bright fortnight of Chaitra (March-April) in the Nepalese calendar called Nepal Samvat.

The one-day festival in Chaitra is known as Chaitra Dashain: name derived from the month itself. During the Dashain festival, priests perform various Vedic and Tantric rituals to Goddess Durga Bhavani, and the Living Goddess Kumari.

According to the Shakta doctrines, we have four Navarat occasions: one each in Aswin, Magh, Chaitra and Ashad. The Navarat days are the most auspicious days for revering Goddess Durga Bhavani. Some Tantric devotees of Durga Bhavani use all these four Navarat occasions for revering the Goddess Durga Bhavani, and visit nine different Goddesses called Nava Durga on those nine days period.

All Nepalese Hindus and Nevah Buddhists celebrate the Navarat in Chaitra and Aswin. Navarat literally means nine nights. This is called so because devotees visit one each Goddess and make offerings to the Goddess at Her field shrine on each night before dawn and at Her town shrine on the evening during Navarat.

We revere the most powerful Goddess Durga Bhavani and the Living Goddess Kumari together during the Dashain festival. The Shakta and the Vajrayan sect independently developed female deities as the sources of power when Tantra became a part of these sects. The Shakta sect gave the source of supreme power, the name of Goddess Durga Bhavani, and the Vajrayan Sect gave the name of the Living Goddess Kumari.

In the initial period of development of these sects, believers in the Shakta sect performed various Tantric rituals to merge with the Goddess while Vajrayanis performed various Tantric rituals to achieve enlightenment during the Dashain festival.

During the Malla period, one of the Malla kings found both Living Goddess Kumari and Goddess Taleju were the same and the one. Hence, they depicted Taleju Bhavani often called Goddess Durga Bhavani on the Torana above the main entrance to the Kumari House in Kathmandu. The deity in any temple is depicted on the Torana of the temple. Torana is a half circle wooden or metal carved with or embossed with various figures of deities and dragons, and placed above an entrance to a temple. Thus, Goddess Durga Bhavani is one of the manifestations of the Living Goddess Kumari.

Both the Living Goddess Kumari and Taleju are names in code. Tantriks believe that they can control deities pleasing them through Tantric means. These deities are the sources of power, fame and wealth for them. Hence, they gave these Goddesses, names in codes as Goddesses Kumari and Taleju so that outsiders would not know them. For outsiders, these names do not suggest any specific deities. In addition, we do not keep these Goddesses in any form or images in the field shrines called piths rather worship them in pebbles for confusing outsiders. Such things we do for preventing outsiders from securing favor from these powerful Goddesses.

Offerings of animal and fowl sacrifices are made to Goddess Durga Bhavani and Goddess Kumari at their field shrines during the Dashain festival. We feast on the meat of such sacrificial animals and birds as blessings from the Goddesses. The State makes the offerings of 54 male buffaloes to Goddess Taleju at the Kot Square on the premises of the old palace of the ancient kingdoms in various parts of Nepal.

In Nepal, our forefathers have begun worshipping female deities from around the fifth century in the Gregorian calendar. Licchavi King Gunakamdev built a city-state called Ye (current Kathmandu) establishing eight mother Goddesses on the periphery of it, to protect it from enemies and evil spirits about one thousand and five hundred years ago. Later on, it became known as Kantipur. Since then, we have attached even more importance to female deities. During the Dashain festival, we revere these eight mother Goddesses and, the main Goddess Durga Bhavani.

Sacrifices made to Goddesses had deep meanings in the past but, later on, they were distorted. Believers in the Shakta sect and Vajrayan sect developed offerings of self-sacrifices, which meant the sacrifices of ego, anger, cravings, lust and contempt. Later on, they designated male buffalo for ego, male goat for lust, and male sheep for anger, male duck for cravings and rooster for contempt. Thus, they set a tradition of making offerings of sacrifices of these animals and fowls instead of self-sacrifices.

Originally, celebration of the Dashain festival was for the purification of mind, speech and body by offering self-sacrifices to the Goddesses Durga Bhavani and Goddesses Kumari twice a year or four times a year depending upon the tradition. Later on, the festival was relegated to Tantric rituals of animal and fowl sacrifices only. With the passing of time, people have forgotten the deep meanings of the Dashain festival, and have resorted to merry makings and feasting in the name of revering these Goddesses of Supreme Power.

We begin the 15-day Dashain festival with Ghatasthapana. It is the first day of nine nights festival called Navarat when we revere one Goddess on each night. All nine Goddesses together are popularly known as Nava Durga and they all in one is Maha-laxmi: one of the manifestations of the Living Goddess Kumari. Nava Durga symbolizes a complete set of nine numbers. There is no other independent number after nine.

We celebrate Dashain festivals twice a year: one in Chaitra and another in Aswin in the Nepalese calendar in honor of Maha-laxmi for Her victory over the demon called Mahi sa shur that had attempted to eliminate the divine system, and impose his own rule all over the universe. We believe that omnipotent and super power Maha-laxmi appeared in Chaitra, so we celebrate the day of Her appearance in Chaitra. The Goddess won a victory over the demon after six months on the tenth day of the bright fortnight in Aswin. So, we celebrate this day as the victory day.

Hence, celebration of the Dashain festival reaches a climax on the tenth day called Vijaya Dashami when all of us wear a red Tika as a victory symbol on our forehead. On the fourteenth day, we celebrate Ko-jagrat holding a nightlong vigil with the homes lighted up for the Goddess of Wealth called Laksmi to visit us. On the fifteenth day, we dispose of the remains of the offerings to Maha-laxmi. Buddhists perform Buddha Puja believing in the appearance of Svoyambhu Jyoti on this day. Thus ends the Dashain festival.

A ritual namely Ghatasthapana is held on the first day of the waxing moon and kicks off a fifteen day Dashain festival.  On that day, the nine-night festival called Navarat also starts.  This festival is so called because from that day on people go to nine different holy places to bathe before dawn and worship one Goddess at a time for nine nights visiting a different site each night. On the evening they visit the same Goddess to worship at her town temple. This goes on until the ninth day of Dashain.

Ghatasthapana is the day on which every household installs Durga Bhavani by sowing barley seeds in a clay vessel and clay bowls or in a special holy place. For that purpose people buy a new clay vessel with a lid on it, and some clay dishes. They bring sand from a holy riverbank.  Ceremoniously, they put the sand in a clay vessel and clay dishes and sow barley and maize seeds and install Durga Bhavani in their private prayer room. Once this is done, people worship it on the morning and on the evening until the ninth day of the Dashain festival.  Plants grow in darkness for nine days and nights.

Literally, Ghatasthapana means installation of a holy water jar. Every household following the tradition performs Ghatasthapana rites on the first day of the bright lunar fortnight in the Aswin in the Nepalese calendar. The Nevah community performs Tantric rituals to summon omnipotent Goddess Maha-laxmi, manifestation of all nine Goddesses, in their family prayer room called Agam. They set two clay pots, one pot on another, and in them, they put clay dishes with sand collected from a holy river bank; they sow barely seeds in the sand to germinate holy shoots over the nine days period, and then to harvest them on the tenth day as the blessing of Maha-laxmi popularly known as Durga Bhavani.

Communities other than Nevahs install Ghatasthapana in a slightly different way.  They spread the sand collected from a riverbank at one corner of their prayer in a square form, and sow barely seeds in it. On this square-sand bed, they install a jar filled with holy water called Kalash, and summon Maha-Laxmi to dwell in it. They offer holy water to it on the morning and a mustard-oil lamp on the evening for nine days as reverence to Maha-laksmi.

Starting on the Ghatasthapana day, we celebrate Navarat visiting one Goddess twice a day: on the morning and the evening.  We go to a riverbank dedicated to each Goddess, take a bath or simply wash our face, and then, we revere the Goddess at Her field shrine on the morning.  On the evening, we visit the same Goddess at Her town temple to revere Her.

On the fifth day, locals celebrate a special festive day at the Pachali area just to the south of Kathmandu. Caretakers of Lord Bhairava place a large gold-gilded silver Jar about one-and-a-half meters high conceivably with Bhairava in it in front of the stone image of Lord Bhairava at the Pachali shrine before dawn on that day. People from surrounding areas worship that Jar as Lord Bhairava. Some people offer animal or fowl sacrifices to it. That goes on for that whole day. On the night, they take the big vessel in a procession to various parts of the old area of Kathmandu, and Hanuman Dhoka. On that night, locals in the Pachali area close even keyholes before going to bed believing that Betal: an attendant to Bhairava comes in search of Bhairava; and if Betal runs across a human causes instant death to him/her. After the completion of the special festive, that gold-gilded big Jar with Bhairava remains with the caretaker for a year.

On the seventh day, the State celebrates the transfer of Phulpati from Gorkha to Kathmandu.  Phulpati means offerings comprising various auspicious items. It comprises a fresh sugarcane plant, a marigold plant, a banana plant and a bel-patra plant; all these items are auspicious items to make offerings to Goddess Maha-laxmi. After the unification of small states into a large kingdom called Nepal in 1867, King Prithvi Narayan Shah of a small hill state called Gorkha set this tradition of bringing Phulpati from Gorkha to Kathmandu.

A procession of high ranking civil servants, police and military sets off at Nasalchowk in the old palace complex, Kathmandu, in the afternoon, following a team of priests, a heavenly decorated attendant lady and two porters carrying a palanquin for Isankoon, Jamal, Kathmandu where state priests store the Phulpati brought from Gorkha. A musical band and a traditional army platoon lead the procession. After a ceremonial transfer of the Phulpati to a carrier, the procession brings back the Phulpati to Nasalchowk. The Head of State goes to Nasalchowk after the Nepal Army ceremony at Tundikhel, to receive blessings of Maha-laksmi from the state priests.

On the seventh day, the Nepal Army holds the Phulpati ceremony at Tundikhel in Kathmandu. President, Vice-president, Chief Justice, House Speaker, ministers and other high-ranking state officials attend the ceremony.

We call the eighth day Maha-astami meaning the great eighth day when Maha-laksmi revealed Her nine different forms. We call the night between the eighth and ninth day Kalratri literally meaning killing night because Maha-laxmi killed the deadly demon called Mahi-sa-shur on this night, thus ending the evil demon forever. She killed all demons even those who had gone hiding in buffaloes, ducks, goats, roosters and so on. People believe that is why we sacrifice those animals and fowls. Hence, on this night, the State makes the special offerings of 54 male buffaloes and 54 male goats to Taleju: another form of Goddess Maha-laxmi brought to the two-tiered temple at Mulchowk within the palace complex in Kathmandu for celebration of the Dashain festival. Offerings are made to Maha-laxmi on the ninth day and the fourteenth day, thereafter, Maha-laxmi returns to the three-tiered temple.

On the eighth day of the festival, some Nepalis make offerings of animal and fowl sacrifices to the deity. In the early morning people visit shrines of various Goddesses and sacrifice different animals and fowls such as goats, chicken, ducks, buffaloes, sheep and so on.

On the night of the eighth day, the Nevah community holds a family feast called Kuchhi Voya: a unit of Kuchhi is used to measure flattened rice for the feast and put on a banana leaf for every family member. Before starting Kuchhi Voya, the head of a household worships nine Goddesses and allocates nine shares of Kuchhi Voya.  In that feast, we eat varieties of meat dishes, beans and drink rice-beer.

On the ninth day, the State priests and Nepalis in general continue to worship Durga Bhavani. In Kathmandu, the State opens the three-tiered Taleju temple to all common folks for making offerings and receiving blessings from Goddess Taleju Bhavani for a whole day on that day once a year.  Men, women and children line up to pay their annual homage to Taleju Bhavani in other words Durga Bhavani.

The ninth day is called Maha-navami means the great ninth day. This day is the last day of Navarat. Ceremonies and rituals reach the peak on this day. Artisans, craftsmen, traders, mechanics and so on worship and offer animal and fowl blood to their tools, implements, equipment, and vehicles; this is done to keep their means of work happy. We believe this avoids accidents for a year.

On the morning of the ninth day, each sub-community of the Nevah community cleans their tools, equipment and implements for worship. For example, a business community cleans measuring sticks or weighing machines or scales; a farmer community cleans spades and other agricultural implements; a warrior community cleans swords and so on for worshipping them. Then we place those weapons, tools, implements and so on next to Durga Bhavani installed on the first day of Dashain, and worship them, and offer animal or fowl sacrifices.  We worship vehicles, motors and all mechanical parts, and offer sacrifices of animals or fowls.

In Bhaktapur, on the afternoon of the ninth day, people take out a buffalo fed with rice-beer, and drive it to Brahmayani where nine Goddesses are installed at the night. Newly made masks of nine Goddesses and other attendants are displayed in another part of Bhaktapur on that night. After a religious ceremony, members of the Nava Durga troupe dancers literally steal those masks to Brahmayani where Tantric priests along with craftsmen that made those masks, ceremoniously give life to each mask. On that night, the Tantric priests perform worship to sacrifice the buffalo fed with rice-beer. In which a demon, Mahi-sa-shur is believed-to-be dwelt in.  All men folks wearing masks of different Goddesses receive a fountain of blood in their mouth directly from the vein of the buffalo on that night.

On the morning of the ninth day, every Nevah household performs an offering to the daughters that have not lost teeth and blood.  This is called Kumari puja literally meaning Virgin worship.

The State performs the Kot Puja within the palace complex of all past city-states in the Kathmandu valley and across the country on the night day.  On this occasion, the state offers the sacrifices of buffaloes in the Kot area under the gunfire salutes. This day is also known as the demon-hunting day because members of the defeated demon army tried to save themselves hiding in the bodies of animals and fowls. For the complete victory over the demons, we sacrifice as many animals and fowls as possible believing they are possessed by demonic spirits. The temples to Goddess Taleju are opened in the entire past city-states in the Kathmandu Valley once a year on this day.

On the tenth day, Nepalis in general celebrate a victory day. We worship Durga Bhavani elsewhere. The Nevah community worships Durga Bhavani in a prayer room. They take out clay dishes with plants of barley sown on the first day of Dashain from a clay vessel to offer Durga Bhavani and other deities. We believe that no matter whom we offer Puja it goes to Durga Bhavani during the 15-day period of Dashain. Then the head of a household turns over tools, equipment and implements: one items at a time to every family member starting from the senior most members. Women receive measuring units of grains and grooms. On that day after the worship to Durga Bhavani, men, women and children visit their senior relatives to receive tika in other word blessings from them. Tika is a blessing of Durga Bhavani, too. It is the mixture of rice, vermillion and yogurt to paste on foreheads as a victory symbol. After pasting tika, people offer plants of barley sown on the first day of Dashain. During tika blessing, daughters and sons-in-law receive a blessing fee (Dakshina), and refreshments. Most people move from one relative to another to receive tika. Normally, people cannot reach all the houses of their relatives on the tenth day; they continue to do so on the following days until the full moon day.

On the tenth day, the State Vedic and Tantric priests make offerings to Goddess Taleju Bhavani and the Living Goddess Kumari at the temple on the premises of the ancient palace. Thereafter, the Head of State receives tika from the state priests on an auspicious time with a salute of 31 gunshots. Then, the Head of State offers tika to common folks wishing to receive in public on the premises of the official residence of the Head of State.

In Bhaktapur, on the morning of the tenth day, people go to Brahmayani, and bathe in the nearby stream and worship nine Goddesses called Nava Durga. Some religious people reach Brahmayani measuring their body length. To do so, such a person prostrates on the ground and extends his clasped hands above his head. An assistant puts a few grains of rice at the end of the clasped hands as a marking point. Then, the man steps to this marking point and then prostrates again. In this way, such a man reaches the shrine to the Goddess Brahmayani. Some other people lie back on the ground nearby the shrine, and exposing only a head, cover their body with quilt and other cotton clothes on which one-inch thick layer of cow dung is put. Then, attendants set a number of small clay dishes on the cow dung placed on the body. Then attendants light cotton wicks on mustard oil placed on clay dishes. An attendant serves him to keep all wick lamps on. That show may last several hours on the morning of the tenth day of the Dashain festival. We believe that by doing so, the person earns a lot of merits and blessings from the Nava Durga. People from surrounding areas and Bhaktapur town visit Brahmayani throughout that day. In the evening, Nava Durga troupe dancers visit Goddess Taleju at Laaku (Durbar square: in Bhaktapur). People make offerings to Goddesses Nava Durga on the way, so it takes about five hours to travel about five Kilometers distance from Brahmayani to Durbar Square. From this day on, the Nava Durga troupe dancers get new lives for another term of ten months or so.

On the night of the tenth days, the local state officials celebrate the Payo Jatra in towns of the Kathmandu Valley.  Caretakers take Goddess Taleju Bhavani in a triumphant procession through narrow lanes of old towns. That day is so auspicious that people need not consult an astrologer to find out an auspicious hour to perform social rituals such as wedding, and adulthood ceremony for boys; hence young women tend to elope on this night.

On the night of the tenth day, the Nevah community holds a victory parade called Khadga Jatra. A twelve members team comprising nine Goddesses, and other three Gods called Ganesh, Bhairava and Kumar, all men wearing masks possessed by the spirit of the respective divinity parade on the street from Bhadrakali to Makhan tole in Kathmandu.  This is a victory parade held every year on the tenth day.

During the remaining days, we exchange best wishes with family members, relatives and friends, and visit seniors to receive blessings.

On the evening of the fourteenth day, we worship Goddess of Wealth called Laksmi, and keep awake the whole night keeping lights on anticipating the Goddess visits us. This is called Ko-jagrat.

Nevah Buddhists believe that Svoyambhu appeared on this full moon day.  So, they clean Chaityas, and perform Buddha Puja.

The last day of Dashain is the full moon day. On that day, early in the morning, Nepalis dispose of the sand and remains of the plants sown on the first day of Dashain on a holy riverbank. Thus ends the Dashain festival.

October 16, 2010.