Pokhara (4) - Dashain

Celebrating Dashain in the hostel with the lovely owners while it’s raining heavily since 2 days. Looks like monsoon is back in the beginning of October. Nepalese said this never ever happened. Climate change shows its best side here.

Dashain is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat annual calendars, celebrated by Nepali Hindus, along with their diaspora throughout the globe. In Nepal, it is also known as the biggest festival in the country and is the longest national/public holiday, 5 days to be exact. It is the most anticipated festival in Nepal. People return from all parts of the world, as well as different parts of the country, to celebrate together. All government offices, educational institutions, and other offices remain closed during the festival period. The festival falls in September or October, starting from the shukla paksha (bright lunar night) of the month of Ashwin and ending on Purnima, the full moon. Among the fifteen days on which it is celebrated, the most important days are the first, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and fifteenth. Dashain is the main festival of Hindus in Nepal.

The word Vaḍādaśain̐ (वडादशैँ) is a Nepali sandhi, where "baḍā" (बडा) means "important" and "daśa͠i" (दशैं) means "tenth", implying the most-significant final day of the festival of Durga Puja, celebrating the dawn after the end of Nauratha (nine nights). The word Dashain is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word daśamī, denoting the 10th day of the Kaula (month) in this context.

The festival of Dashain is often criticized for its animal sacrifice. Driven by the belief that offerings of fresh blood will appease goddess Durga, scores of animals and birds are ritually slaughtered especially in the eighth and ninth day of the festival. Birds and animals that are traditionally eligible for sacrifice include goats, buffaloes, sheep, chickens, and ducks.もっと詳しく