MANGSHIR

On this month falls the Chhath Parva, mainly celebrated by the natives of Mithila region of Nepal and India. it is the celebration dedicated to the god SUN and is based on the thanksgiving the god for sustaining life and to worship him to provide continuous blessing to mankind. it is believed in hindu culture that the rays of sun has powerful radiations that help cure various diseases and illness. It is a four day long celebration and is also celebrated in Chaitra but it is not as popular as the Mangshir chhath pooja.  Below is the brief description of the four day celebration;

Day 1: (Naha Kha) the literal meaning is to bath and eat. People take a dip in holy rivers, bring holy water home, clean their houses and eat only one meal in a day.

Day 2: (Kharna/Lohanda) People end their fasting this day in the evening after sunset. Offerings of Kheer (Rice Pudding), fruits and foods are distributed among family and getting ready for a 36 hour fasting starting from the next day.

Day 3: (Chhath) This day the offerings are made in the evening and is called Sanjhiya Arghya. People prepare offerings during the day and whole family go to river banks to make offerings to the setting sun. In Kathmandu this is done in Rani Pokhari and in Janakpur this is done in Ganga Sagar. People come together during the evenings and perform many cultural activities together that reflects the vitality, culture, social structure metrology and history of Mithila.

            (Koshi) During the night, the lights are lit after the sunset and the argha to the sun. The lamp are kept in a canopy of five sugarcane sticks which symbolises the five elements that make the human body.The lamp then signifies the solar energy that sustains the human body. This is also a compulsory performance in families which have recent marriage and child birth.

Day 4: (Paran) This is the final day of the Chhath Parva. People make morning offerings to sun before sunrise known as Bihaniya Argha. All the family go to the river and pray to the rising son and end their fasting by having the prasad.

This is also the month when Bala Chaturdashi is celebrated. It is celebrated in honour of Lord Shiva by receiving mantras and lighting the lamps through out the night in the Pashupatinath temple. The next day people go to Bagmati River for a holy bath for purification. After the bath people visit all the god idols around the premises of the temple. While travelling around the temple devotees drop SAPTABIJ, the mixture of seven sacred seeds. The route passes through kailash forest and return back to the pashupati temple. At the end a special act is carried out, people shout, shake and talk loudly to the Ganesh idol near Bishwaroop temple as it is believed to be deaf.

It is believed that by celebrating this ritual we can secure better place in heaven for our dead relatives, it also helps to settle restless soul. Because this is performed in a mass by thousands of devotees it is believed to have true effect.