Bijaya Dashami: Finally A Victory Day

Bijaya Dashami: Finally A Victory Day

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Ultimately, folks have Bijaya Dashami means the victory day: the tenth day of the Dashain or Mohani festival. They have killed many demons hiding in animals. The eighteen-limbed Bhagavati has ascended to her abode from the battleground. Folks are wearing victory sign of red tika on his/her forehead, and jamara on his/her ears as the blessing from the Supreme Deity of Warfare Bhagavati. The day is the most auspicious one for anybody wedding or performing adulthood ceremonies or doing anything good in a life.

Folks have received the blessing of Bhagavati that has been fighting a ferocious war with the demons. They have been praying to the goddess for her victory over the demons and doing everything possible for her victory during the last nine days.

They have mercilessly massacred a number of animals such as buffaloes, goats, sheep, ducks, and roosters either for meat or for offerings to different deities across the country. Everybody has enjoyed the festival dishes cooking the meat of the livestock offered to Bhagavati or other deities during the festival days, and some have consumed the most delicious meat-and-rice dishes as the festival feasts, and washed them down with home-brewed rice beer or home-distilled liquor or imported or locally produce liquor.

A large number of local devotees and devotees from neighboring Indian towns made offerings of 493 male buffaloes and around some 12,000 male goats to Goddess Kankali Bhagavati at her Temple located at Bhardaha in the Saptari district on the ninth day of the Dashain festival, the news on thehimalayantimes.com and myrepublica.com stated. Anybody could easily guess how many animals were sacrificed to Bhagavati across the country if a single temple has so many animals sacrificed.

Finally, on the tenth day, the goddess eliminated the demon and his mighty army, and saved the deities in the cosmic world and on earth, humans on earth, and underworld dwellers from the tyranny of the monster Mahisashur. So, it is the victory for the deities and humans on this mundane world but also for the deities in the cosmic world, and for those living in the underworld too.

Bhagavati has returned back to her permanent abode: the magnificent temple in Kathmandu on the tenth day after completing her mission to end the demonic rule over the deities, humans, and the underworld dwellers. She is the most powerful deity and rides on a lion as a convincing display of her might.

The Kathmandu Hanumandhoka temple complex is opened to the public to view the deity and her achievement for two days: ninth and tenth days. Anybody could visit there and see the deity residing in the temporary residence called Dashain Ghar on the ninth day. The single-storied building is majestic. Two main deities: Laksmi and Sarasvoti in bronze idols are guarding the main entrance to the dwelling of Bhagavati or Taleju Bhavani: another popular name of the deity.

Taleju Bhavani and Living Goddess Kumari jointly accepted the Tantrik offerings made at midnight between ninth and tenth day at the temporary residence of Bhagavati. Taleju Bhavani is available for the folks to receive the blessing only on the ninth and tenth day. For the rest of the days in a year, Bhagavati quietly resides in her three-storied splendid temple standing on the five-storied plinth accepting only the daily offerings the State priest makes.

Living Goddess Kumari is the human incarnation of Taleju Bhavani. She dwells in her magnificent Kumari house in Kathmandu, and is available for the common folks receiving blessing from her throughout a year. Living Goddess Kumari is Taleju Bhavani; so, She presides over all the religious and cultural events throughout a year. The deity is off-limits to the foreign visitors but She appears at the window overlooking the square enclosed in the Kumari Ghar for the public views following her schedule.

So, Living Goddess Kumari is the source of power. Common folks derive the power from her to be successful in their businesses, professions, occupations, and so on whereas the head of State receives the mandate from the deity to rule the country.

After sufficiently boozing and tantrikally deriving power from the supreme warfare Deity Bhagavati, some folks demonstrate the victory parade in all the Nevah settlements on the night of the tenth day. A number of male members hold a khadga: a kind of divine weapon for the victory parade, and these warriors march in a line to the destination and back.

The tenth day is so auspicious that anybody could perform an adulthood ceremony, or wedding or any other religious or social events without consulting astrologers for an auspicious moment. So, some smart youths take this opportunity to wed without the knowledge of parents. This informal wedding without the wedding ceremonies and feasts had been the tradition in the past, and it continues even today. Practically, it saves the money and energy for holding an expensive wedding party if wedding is done at any time other than the Dashain festival.

Early on the morning of the tenth day after the usual body-cleaning, first thing common folks do is to open up the bowl in which seeds of buckwheat were sowed and kept covered for nine days and nights to grow the golden sprouts of buckwheat, and offer it to Bhagavati, and the deity called Kumar dwelling at the main entrance to every house, and then to the neighborhood deity Ganesh and other deities around. The golden sprouts of buckwheat are specially made for offerings to Bhagavati and other deities only in the Dashain festival.

Thereafter, the patriarch of every family applies red tika on the forehead, and offers the sprouts that usually wears behind ears as the blessing of the supreme warfare deity: Bhagavati. Thereafter, family members first swap greetings and blessing from the deity among the extended family members and then with the family members of even with the distant relatives. They would go on doing so until the full moon day.

The streets of the Kathmandu Valley have been quiet. Pedestrians have been only a few on the sidewalks. Only a few private and public transport vehicles are seen on the roads. Folks going to relatives and friends have to wait for a long time to ride a public bus. Taxis have been very expensive for the common folks.

Most of the public transport vehicles and even private vehicles have been out of the Kathmandu Valley, as almost a half of the Kathmandu Valley population has left for their homes to celebrate the Dashain festival with loved ones at their homes, and neighbors and friends in the community.

As many as 1.9 million folks have left the Kathmandu Valley from September 5 to 26, according to the record the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has kept. Folks continued to leave Kathmandu on September 27. So, the number of folks that have gone out of Kathmandu must be larger.

Starting on October 1, folks will be coming back to Kathmandu from homes after celebrating the Dashain festival with families and friends, as the main Dashain activities end on September 30, and the regular life of business comes back again.

On the occasion of the Bijaya Dashami (Bada Dashain) on September 30, 2017, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari wished for happiness, peace and prosperity to all the Nepali sisters and brothers in the country and abroad stating the festivals symbolize the unity in diversity; and she has stated that the nation is the common garden of the folks belonging to all castes and creeds; they have made a significant contribution to uniting the geographical, religious, racial, cultural and linguistic diversity, and maintaining social amity, national unity and the common Nepali identity. The unique customs and traditions of the peoples of different castes and ethnicities, communities, religious beliefs, and of geographical areas remain as the unparalleled treasures of the nation.

The President also wished that the Bijaya Dashami festival successfully strengthened the national unity and maintained the social harmony and brotherhood by giving the equal opportunity to all the Nepalis of different castes and ethnicities, races, speaking different languages and having various religious beliefs, having various social and cultural identities, and living in the mountains, hills and the Tarai/Madhes from Mechi in the east to Mahakali in the west.

The president also has wished that the goddess Durga Bhavani: the symbol of power blesses all the Nepali sisters and brothers to eagerly participate in the two elections: one to the House of Representatives and another to the State Assemblies to be held on November 26 and December 7, 2017. (Source: RSS news on myrepublica.com)

On the occasion of the Bijaya Dashami festival, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun wished for the sustained prosperity of the nation as well as for the happiness, peace and good health of all the Nepalis. In his message, Vice President Pun has stated that the constitution has guaranteed the rights to protect and promote all religions and cultures, as Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural and a geographically diverse secular country.

He also expressed his confidence in the recently held local level elections and the elections to the Federal Parliament and the State Assemblies to be held on November 26 and December 7, 2017 would propel the country to the economic prosperity following the implementation of the constitution. (Source: RSS news on myrepublica.com)

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has extended best wishes to all Nepalis for happiness, peace and prosperity on the occasion of the Bada Dashain festival stating the implementation of the constitution crafted by the Constituent Assembly has been in the final phase, the peace process has almost come to the conclusion, and political stability has been just achieved in the country. (Source: RSS news on myrepublica.com)

On the occasion of Bada Dashain, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has wished all Nepalis in the country and abroad the Bada Dashain festival inspires them to take the country to the national unity, integrity, national dignity, peace and democracy.

He stated that the country was moving ahead to the implementation of the constitution the popularly-elected Constituent Assembly promulgated, and the recently concluded local level election proved to be an important step to this end.

“The door to development and prosperity of the villages and towns has opened up with the election of the people’s representatives at the local level. The economic development and prosperity of the country is guaranteed if the elected people’s representatives rightly used the rights given by the constitution to the local levels,” Oli said in the message.

He also stated that the local level election has institutionalized democracy and the republic at the grassroots level. “There is immense possibility of development in our country which is rich in terms of natural and cultural diversity. What is only needed is unity among us, promotion of national dignity and a far-sighted leadership,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Oli also stated that the political struggle would end with the holding of the elections to the House of Representatives and the State Assemblies on November 26 and December 7, 2017 and the country would enter the phase of economic development. He urged the people to elect honest and clean representatives who would be capable of taking the country ahead to the rapid economic development, of standing firmly on the side of national unity and national prestige, and of making the country stable and developed. (Source: thehimalayantimes.com)

President Bidya Devi Bhandari received tika and jamara as the blessing of the Supreme Deity Bhagavati and blessings of the goddess Navadurga means nine goddesses: manifestations of goddess Durga Bhavani from the State priest of the Hanumandhoka Dashain Ghar at the most auspicious time of 11:55 am at the President’s Office, Shital Nivas on the occasion of the Bijaya Dashami.

On the occasion of the Bijaya Dashami, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba received tika and jamara as the blessing of the Supreme deity Bhagavati from the family priest at the auspicious time of 11:55 am at Baluwatar: official residence of the Prime Minister.

Receiving tika and jamara as the blessings of Goddess Bhagavati has been the whole day business on the tenth day of the Dashain festival; and it continues for the remaining days of the Dashain festival: up until the full moon day. Folks move from one relative to another to receive the blessings. Senior folks remain at home to deliver the blessings to anybody popping up at the homes on this and on the latter days of the festival.

October 1, 2017