By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 18: Dashain, Nepal’s major Hindu festival is widely known for the tradition of receiving Tika and Jamara from elders as blessings for properity, happiness and good fortune.
During Navaratri, devotees visit various Shakti Peeths to worship and pay homage to the different manifestations of Goddess Durga. However, Dashain is also associated with large scale animal sacrifices at several temples and religious sites, where animals such as he-goats, buffaloes, sheep and chickens and ducks are offered to the goddess as part of traditional religious rituals.
Besides the worship, the mass sacrificial ceremony is specially organised at the Taleju Temple of Hanuman Dhoka of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur to offer to the goddess during Maha Ashtami and Maha Nawami.
Pension Management Office (PMO) and Guthi Sansthan have provided four-legged and two-legged animals to be sacrificed in the name of goddesses across the nation.
As per the tradition, PMO manages 162 he-buffaloes and 187 he-goats every year to sacrifice during the 15-day Dashain festival in several Shakti Peeths. According to the PMO, a mass sacrificial ceremony is organised at the Mul Chowk of Hanumandhoka, then in other areas like Taleju Bhawani.
On Maha Asthami, also known as Kalarati, special rituals are performed at night. During the occasion, 54 he-goats and 54 he-buffaloes are sacrificed on the night, said Shradha Shiwokoti, information officer of Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum Development Committee (HDMDC). On Maha Nawami day, eight he-goats are sacrificed in the morning during special worship time and 54 he-goats, 54 he-buffaloes and a duck are sacrificed in the evening.
On the day of Chaturdashi, the same mass sacrificial ceremony is organsied, offering 54 he-goats, and 54 he-buffaloes.
As per the PMO, around 60 to 65 four-legged and two-legged animals are provided to be sacrificed at several other temples.
PMO provides 17 he-goats, seven he-buffaloes and 18 ducks for the mass sacrificial ceremony at Nuwakot Palace during Ashtami and Nawami days. Guthi Sansthan has also allocated a budget and has managed animals, as in previous years, to carry out mass sacrificial ceremonies at several Shakti Peeths across the country.
A total of 50 he-buffaloes, 14 ducks and 24 sheep are provided by the Rajguhti for Taleju Bhawani of Hanumandhoka.
Bhaktapur-based Taleju Temple, along with other Shakti Peeths, has been provided 37 he- buffaloes, 86 he–goats, 29 ducks and
two hens. Likewise, one he-buffalo and 46 he-goats are provided to Lalitpur Taleju Bhagawati and other goddesses.
For the Pashupati area, it has provided 12 he-goats, four he-buffaloes and eight ducks to sacrifice at Guheshwori, Rameshwori, Kulanandajha, along with other temples.
In Kavrepalanchowk, 10 he-goats, eight he-buffaloes, three sheep, eight ducks and 13 hens are provided for sacrifice to Kavrepalanchowk Bhagawati, along with other temples.
Moreover, eight he-goats are provided to Janakpur to offer sacrifice at Rajdevi, Jaleshwor, Fuleshwor Mai and other temples.
Guthi Sansthan is allocated budget every year to manage puja items and buy four-legged and two-legged animals. During Dashain, animals like goats and buffaloes are sacrificed at various temples and shrines in Kathmandu Valley and other parts of the country.
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