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Makar Mela
Makar Mela is a traditional Hindu festival celebrated every 12 years in the month of Magh (Mid January-Early February) in Panauti town of Nepal. The festival attracts Hindu pilgrims from all over Nepal, India and some foreign tourists. Pilgrims believe that taking a dip in the holy river during the festival washes away their sins. The festival is celebrated for the whole month of Magh at Tribenighat, the confluence of three rivers viz. Punyamati, Roshi (also called Lilawati) and Rudrawati. The festival starts when the sun enters Makar Rashi as per the Vedic astrology. Pilgrims bath in the river and worship Basuki Naag which is considered to be the caretaker of Panauti. Then the devotees proceed to worship Indreshwor Mahadev. Mythology According to the mythology, once Indra, the king of heaven, suffered from an incurable disease. To cure it, he meditated for 12 years to get rid of disease by pleasing Shiva at Tribenighat. Shiva mixed some nectar in Rudrawati river to cure the dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magh (Nepali Calendar)
Magh () is the tenth month in Bikram Sambat or B.S., the official and Hindu religious calendar of the Nepalese speaking people native to the Indian subcontinent of Hindu Nepalese nationality and ethnic Hindu Nepalis of Indian nationality. This month approximately coincides with January 15 to February 12 of the Gregorian (western) calendar and is 29 days long. Important holidays: * Magh 1, Maghe Sankranti, also see Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ... * Magh 9, Basant Panchami Months in Nepali calendar External links * Nepali calendar {{Nepal-culture-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panauti
Panauti () is a municipality in Kavrepalanchok District in Bagmati Province of Nepal 32 km southeast of the capital, Kathmandu. A medieval architectural complex there was nominated by the Nepalese government as a UNESCO tentative site in 1996. Origin At the end of the 13th century, Panauti was finally integrated into the unified kingdom of Nepal, along with Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur, which are all former capital cities of the Kathmandu valley. Panauti was a trading hub along the ancient Salt Trade route between Tibet and India. The recorded history of Panauti goes back to the first century AD. With the end of the Salt trade in the 1950s and the construction of the Arniko Highway in the 1960s bypassing the town, Panauti has gone into an economic rut. Panauti, consists of a variety of Buddhist and Hindu religious monuments, and is called to be one of the area's most important medieval sites by Lonely Planet. Historical The Indreshwar temple is one of the largest an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy River
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. These organic bodies of water have attained religious significance not from the modern alteration or blessing, but were sanctified through mythological or historical figures. Sacred waters have been exploited for cleansing, healing, initiations, and death rites. Ubiquitous and perpetual fixations with water occur across religious traditions. It tends to be a central element in the creations accounts of almost every culture with mythological, cosmological, and theological myths. In this way, many groups characterize water as "living water", or the "water of life". This means that it gives life and is the fundamental element from which life arises. Each religious or cultural group that feature waters as sacred substances tends to fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. [3 volumes] Indra is the most frequently mentioned deity in the ''Rigveda''. He is celebrated for his powers based on his status as a god of order, and as the one who killed the great evil, an Asura (Hinduism), asura named Vritra, who obstructed human prosperity and happiness. Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rain and sunshine as the saviour of mankind. Indra's significance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature, but he still plays an important role in various mythological events. He is depicted as a powerful hero. According to the ''Vishnu Purana'', Indra is the title borne by the king of the gods, which changes every Manvantara – a cyclic period of time in Hindu cosmology. Each Manvantara has its own Indra and the In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, [mɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh]) and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer'' within the Trimurti, the Hinduism, Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shaktism, Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess (Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition, Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an Omniscience, omniscient yogi who lives an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic life on Kailasa as well as a house ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vishnu is known as ''The Preserver'' within the Trimurti, the triple deity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' () (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the Hindu cosmology, universe. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the supreme being is with qualities (Saguna Brahman, Saguna), and has definite form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gyanendra
Gyanendra Shah (born 7 July 1947) is the final monarch of Nepal, ruled from 2001 until 2008, when the monarchy was overthrown. He briefly held the throne as a child between 1950 and 1951, when his grandfather Tribhuvan and his family fled to India for political reasons. His second reign, which began following the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre, was characterised by constitutional upheaval. His brother, King Birendra, established a constitutional monarchy and delegated policy to a representative government. During Gyanendra's reign, the growing insurgency of the Nepalese Civil War disrupted representative elections. Following several election delays, Gyanendra suspended the constitution and assumed direct authority in February 2005, claiming that it was a temporary measure to suppress the Maoist insurgency after civil governments failed to do so. In April 2006, despite widespread opposition, he restored Nepal's previous parliament. He was deposed two years later by the first ses ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bikram Sambat
Vikram Samvat (ISO: ''Vikrama Saṁvata''; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states and Nepal. It is a lunisolar calendar, using twelve to thirteen lunar months each solar sidereal years. The year count of the Vikram Samvat calendar is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years. Vikram Samvat is an official calendar of Nepal. And unlike India where it is used only for religious dates, the solar version of Vikram Samvat is an official calendar used for everything from school sessions to legal contracts to any official functions. History A number of ancient and medieval inscriptions used the Vikram Samvat. Although it was reportedly named after the legendary king Vikramaditya, the term "Vikrama Samvat" does not appear in the historical record before the 9th century; the same calendar syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festivals In Nepal
Main festivals Nepal stands as a unique example of a secular and multicultural nation where diverse festivals are joyfully celebrated within communities. In Nepal, individuals of varying religious backgrounds coexist in the same neighborhoods and societies, fostering a spirit of unity as they come together to share in the celebrations of a multitude of festivals, thus sharing their joys, happiness, and sorrows as a harmonious whole. Dashain ''Dashain'' (; , also ''Baḍādaśhãin'' or ''Bijayā Daśamī'' ) is the 15-day-long festival and holidays of Nepal. It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese Hindu people throughout the globe. It is not only the longest festival of the country, but also the one which is most anticipated. As one of the popular countries, Nepal has its Hindu festival as Dashain. The festival falls in September or October, starting from the shukla paksha (bright lunar fortnight) of the month ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
