Although this year the Holydays come earlier than usual on the solar (western) calendar,the dyas are sunny and warm, with billowy cloudscapes and kite-flying breezes, the monsoon is over and Dasain is in the air. No time to wonder whether we received enough rainfall this monsoon, its time to celebrate and swin with the season -
Dasain is
the major festival in Nepal,
as well as in Bengal, where it is called Durga Puja, and throughout
northern India India where it is known as Dussera, the ten nights of
the Great Goddess. It celebrates the victory of the Great
Goddess, Durga over the buffalo-demon, Mahisha.
Concurrently,
the victory of Lord Rama over the powerful demon, Ravana, is
commemorated.
In a nutshell,
this is a celebration of the victory of good over evil, a theme as
lasting as any in the convolutions of human consciousness. Our
daily dose of news attests to that.
In the villages, in preparation for the festival, and in
anticipation of the Goddess' visit, and that of numerous relatives,
people ceremonially cleanse their houses, giving them a fresh coat of
red mud, cow dung and water.
The first day
of the Dasain festival, is called Ghatasthapana - 'the
Establishment of the Sacred Vessel'. It falls on the new moon day
(Sep. 19). Early in the morning, various grains are sown in a
small vessel filled with riverbed sand. This pot, representing
Goddess Durga, is watered daily, and the resultant sprouts are used in
rituals, and worn in the hair or behind the ear as prasad, during the
culminating days of the festival. Our little Brahmin came down
from the hills (4hrs walk above Palanchok Bhagavati...) and performed
tthe ritual -
The next nine
days, called Navaratri (the 9 nights of the Goddess), are dedicated to
the worship of the nine forms of the Great Goddess Durga. Early
morning baths in the river or a stone spout begin the day, while the
evenings are dedicated to visiting different Devi temples on each day,
and offering worship. Some of the pilgrims carry specially made
lanterns. Some offer to lie all night completely still, with
burning oil lamps attached to them with cow dung paste. Caste
bands play music and masked dancers portraying the nine Goddesses dance
on the temple stairs.
After about a
week - this year its on Thursday (Sep 25) - when the sprouts are
grown,
The sacred
vessel of the royal house of Gorkha, is carried to the capital with
much fanfare. That day is called Phulpati. These days the
royal aspect of this is downplayed. Secular sprouts are grown in
Kathmandu, and the President stands in for the king.
Phulpati marks the official start of the holiday. All
offices and most places of work are closed, and people devote
themselves to celebrating the great victory of good over evil.
From midnight of the eighth day, called Kalaratri (The Black
Night) the sacrifices begin. Over the next three days thousands
of buffalos, goats, ducks, and chickens are sacrificed to the
Goddess, to ensure prosperity and happiness in the coming year.
Don't worry, all the meat is consumed, and distributed to relatives as
prasad. It is generally believed that the animals sacrificed at
Dasain are re-born as humans, thus gaining the opportunity for ultimate
liberation. Some worshippers of Vishnu and those opposed to
sacrifice, may just break a gourd or an egg in a gesture of sacrifice
On the ninth
day sacrifices are made to Durga for the protection of all vehicles and
their occupants, from the luxury limo down to the humble bicycle.
On that day the
God Vishvakarma, the heavenly handyman and producer of all mechanical
things, is also propitiated.
All tools and
implements of labor are worshipped with flowers, lights, incense and
sacrifice. Students' books, writers desks and pens, doctors'
scalpels, all get the treatment. The Marxists even worship their
hammers and sickles. Here we see office workers worshipping their
computers...
The tenth day,
Vijaya Dasami (Sep. 28), the day of the Goddess' victory over the
buffalo-demon Mahisha,
and of Lord
Rama's over Ravana, is the day of receiving Tika from elder relatives
and superiors, visiting them in strict order of seniority or
rank, starting with one's parents.
For the next five days, until full moon day, everybody goes
all over the place, visiting relatives, receiving and giving tika,
exchanging joyous greetings, and feasting.
On the final
full moon day (Oct. 2), the Buddhists, who have been quietly tolerating
all this bloodshed and praying for the suffering beings, take out a
day-long procession, visiting the different chaityas and shrines,
scattering grains, coins, and foodstuffs to bring peace to the souls of
the dead, similarly to the way the did this on Mata-Ya at the end of
the holy month of Gunla.
This full moon is known as Kojagrata, meaning 'one who is
awake', when the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi is worshipped again, and
gambling games are played all night.
Life returns to normal, offices open, people go back to work,
travellers return home. It's time to tighten one's belt and start
repaying the loans and recovering from the expenses incurred in
unstintingly observing the festival and worshipping the Goddess.
The holy scriptures promise that those who observe the festival of
Dasain, acquire, virtue, power, wealth, and many offspring.
They assuredly escape the miseries of evil and sin.
Here's wishing
this nation, and everybody, peace, prosperity and fulfillment on the
joyous occasion of Vijaya Dasami !
Jai Ma!!!
Love and Pranams,
Billy
Billy