Makar Festival In Panauti

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Once-a-twelve-year festival of 2010 is going on in Panauti since January 15, 2010. Nepalese Hindus believe that all 33,333 (taintis-koti) Hindu deities descend from the cosmic world to Panauti on this occasion. So, if you take a dip in the holy water of the confluence of Padmavati River and Lilavati River and the third spiritual river called Rudravati River that flows underground once every twelve year, and make offering of even only water to all deities then you will be free from all the sins you have committed so far. Naturally, no Hindus would miss out on taking a dip in the holy water and make offerings to all Hindu deities on one spot and at one time on this occasion of the Makar festival. So, every day thousands of Nepalis visit Panauti during the one-month long Makar festival.

Panauti is a small ancient town about 32 km south east of Kathmandu. However, it has some features of being a city-state in the past. The most important features suggesting it had been a city-state in the past are the remnants of Temple to Taleju and the ancient palace. Another evidence on being Panauti a city-state is the prince of Panauti becoming the ‘Namo Buddha’ after cutting his flesh and serving it to the hungry tiger cubs and their mother in the nearby forest. The popular belief is that ‘Namo Buddha’ is the previous incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha. So, Panauti was possibly a city-state even before 2,500 years ago.

The town is made up of the east-west main path and north-south subsidiary paths connecting the Padmavati River in the north and the Lilavati River in the South. The wide town in the west goes on narrowing and pointing to the east and ends at the confluence of Padmavati and Lilavati Rivers. All the major temples to deities are there. That is the place where spirits of 33,333 Hindu deities descend to preside over a month long Makar festival.

Regular public transport is available from Kathmandu to Panauti. Hundreds of people travel on buses. Even the bus roofs are filled with passengers. People don’t mind putting their lives at risk traveling on the rooftops of buses during this month-long Hindu festival held in Panauti. Many more people simply walk from the surrounding villages to Panauti.

Services of fast foods, tea, coffee and soft drinks are available all along the main path to the festival area during the period of the festival. Fast foods in Nepal are primarily the donut like thinner but larger round bread called ‘sale’ cooked in oil, another circular sweet with small circles around it called ‘jelabi’ cooked in oil and dipped in syrup, flattened rice and potato curry. You will find the makeshift tea stalls and eateries serving just-cooked hot ‘sale’, and ‘jelabi’, and potato curry with flattened rice to the customers. In addition, they serve Coca cola, Pepsi cola and other brands of modern soft drinks.

Sitting by the path leading to the confluence of two rivers, a number of women sell items of offerings to deities. Hindu items of offerings comprise flowers, vermillion powder, some rice, incense sticks, and ready-to-light vegetable butter lamp. These five items represent five human life-supporting elements such as water, air, light (heat), earth (food) and mind. Offering of life to deities is the Hindu tantric tradition. So, Hindus follow the tradition of making offerings of those five life-supporting items to all those deities.

The festival management committee has made separate areas for men and women to take a dip in the holy waters at the confluence of Padmavati River and Lilavati River. A sandbag dam prevents the polluted Padmavati River from entering the little ponds: one for men and another for women. A two-inch pipe feeds water to the ponds to ensure sufficient water for devotees to take a dip.

Only bamboos tied to squares separate the men’s pond from the women’s pond. So, people of both the genders can see each other taking a dip in the holy waters. Men with only loin clothes take a dip in the murky but holy waters and come out murmuring names of various deities. Women in petticoats of various colors but mostly red colors covering from their chests to the knees submerge their beautiful bodies and come out of the water sticking petticoats to every part of their bodies. Women exposing such body parts during the festival time are not a taboo in the Hindu culture.

After taking a dip in the holy water and putting on fresh clothes, devotees first offer water to the serpent god called Basuki naga made up of brass and set on the embankment of the Rivers, then to four-limbed Lord Krishna and other deities on the right bank of the Padmavati River, then they cross the river and make offerings to Goddess Brahmayani, and climb up the hillock and reach the temple to Lord Gorkhanath and make offerings to him, and descend down to make offerings to Lord Indresvore Mahadev and other deities on this courtyard.

A number of Narayans also dwell on this courtyard of Indresvore Mahadev in Panauti. One of them is called Surya Narayan carved in a stone and set on the wall shrine made up of baked bricks. The stone idol of Surya Narayan encircled by nine gods representing nine planets and riding a chariot pulled by seven horses is a masterpiece.

Another masterpiece is the two-storied temple to Unmat Bhairava next to the temple to Indresvore Mahadev in Panauti. The temple is unique in the sense, you will rarely find similar shrine at other places. Unmat Bhairava is the tantric incarnation of Lord Shiva. Unmat means sexually explosive. Lord Shiva has incarnated in Unmat Bhairava to satisfy the unmet sexual desire of his spouse Parvati incarnated in Bhadrakali. Local people celebrate the festival of Lord Shiva called Indresvore Mahadev, Unmat Bhairava and Bhadrakali in Panauti on the full moon day of the bright fortnight in Jestha (May-June) to enact the episode of sexual encounters of these three deities in public.

Makar festival is held every twelve year because 33,333 Hindu deities descend from the cosmic world to the confluence of two rivers in Panauti on earth making the area holy for a month of Magha (Jan-Feb). Nepalis believe that during this period the planetary position of nine planets in the cosmic world sets in such a way that all Hindu deities come down to bless the mundane people on earth.

The planetary position of nine planets sets in the most auspicious system on the first day of Magha (Jan-Feb) every year, too. On this day, Hindus find the 33,333 deities at every confluence of two rivers and even on the bank of every river in Nepal. So, Hindu men and women take a dip in such confluences and on riverbanks on this day believing holy water will wash away all sins they have accumulated in a year.

A legend has it that transforming herself to a Rudravati River and joining in Padmavati River and Lilavati River, Parvati: the spouse of Lord Shiva made the confluence of three rivers in Panauti a holiest possible spot for heavenly Monarch Indra to take a dip in it and wash away the sin he had committed seducing Ahilya. Nepalis believe that such thing happens in this area every twelve year.

Creator of the Hindu world, Brahma gave birth to a very beautiful woman and called her ‘Ahilya’. She is so beautiful everybody is attracted to her. So, Brahma finds an equally smart suitor called Gautam Rishi for Ahilya and marries them.

Seeing the unmatched beauty of Ahilya, Hindu heavenly monarch called Indra develops strong desire for seducing her. So, he transforms himself to the physical features of Gautam Rishi, and visits Ahilya after her spouse Gautam Rishi has left for an early morning rituals of bathing in a nearby river.

To the surprise of Ahilya, fake Gautam Rishi goes straight to the bed and asks Ahilya to join him. Gautam Rishi has never changed his daily rituals, so Ahilya becomes suspicious of his behavior but gives in after the sweet words of Indra in the guise of Gautam Rishi and joins him in the bed. Ahilya experiences the sexual enjoyment with the fake spouse she has never had before, and Ahilya continues to stay on in the bed not realizing her real spouse is coming soon.

Gautam Rishi reaches home but finds the door locked from inside, and thinks what has happened to his spouse. So, he knocks on the door and calls out to Ahilya. Fake Gautam Rishi lying with Ahilya becomes nervous of the situation that brings him face to face with the real one. Ahilya goes to open the door to find out the person knocking on the door.

Seeing real Gautam Rishi standing at the door, Ahilya almost faints and looks back and sees fake Gautam Rishi has changed back to Indra and is standing just behind her. Embarrassed Gautam Rishi becomes very angry with both Ahilya and Indra at having sex in his absence. Gautam Rishi pours some holy water from his water pot on his hand and throws it at Indra putting a curse on him saying, “Let your body covers with female sex organs.” Ahilya holds the legs of Gautam Rishi and asks for pardon from him for unknowingly committing adultery with the man believing he is really Gautam Rishi. However, Gautam Rishi does not listen to Ahilya and puts a curse on her, too, saying, “You become a stone.”

Indra could not return to his kingdom with all the marks of female sex organs on all over his body, so he remains on earth. Finding no return of Indra to the cosmic world his spouse called Saci or Indrayani seeks the help of the heavenly guru called Brihaspati to find out her spouse. Brihaspati uses his telepathic vision to see the cosmic world and finds Indra hiding in a jungle on earth.

Guru Brihaspati advises Indrayani to go and help Indra in getting rid of the unnatural marks on the body of Indra forgiving him for adultery. The Guru said, “Indrayani, go to the mundane world and meet Indra and take him to the most holy place at the confluence of Padmavati River and Lilavati River in Panauti and let him meditate on Lord Shiva, and you meditate on his spouse Parvati for their favor.”

Indra has meditated on Lord Shiva and his spouse Indrayani on Parvati for twelve years at the confluence of the two rivers in Panauti before pleasing them for their favor. After twelve years, both Lord Shiva and his spouse Parvati appear before Indra and his spouse Indrayani. Lord Shiva said, “We are very pleased with your devotion to us and let me know what you have on your minds; I will meet your wishes.”

Indrayani clasping hands at her chest and bowing to Lord Shiva and his spouse Parvati said, “My spouse Indra has his body full of the marks of female sex organs; please do us a favor removing all those marks from his body.”

Lord Shiva said, “Those marks will go only after taking a dip in the holy waters of the confluence of three rivers. Here, you are at the confluence of two rivers. I will ask Parvati to transform herself to a river called Rudravati and flow here to make this place a confluence of three rivers. However, one mark on his forehead remains and I will cover it with ashes.”

After taking the form of Rudravati River, Parvati joins in Padmavati River and Lilavati River to make the confluence of three rivers in Panauti. Indra takes a dip in the holy water of the confluence of these three rivers and washes away all other marks of woman’s sex organs on his body except for the one on his forehead. Lord Shiva puts his ashes called ‘bibhuti’ by his right hand thumb on the forehead of Indra covering the inerasable female organ. Then, Indra set up a lingam and called it Indresvore Mahadev that stands even today in the inner sanctum of a three-tiered temple in Panauti.

So, Nepalese Hindus believe that every twelve year, Parvati flows as a Rudravati River and joins in Padmavati and Lilavati Rivers making the confluence of three rivers in Panauti. Taking a dip in the waters of this confluence, you can wash away all sorts of sins you have committed; this is a popular belief in Nepal; so, none of the Hindus would like to miss out on taking a dip in the water of the confluence of these three rivers in Panauti once every twelve year. This month-long festival is called Makar Mela.

February 5, 2010.