Matatirtha Aunsi is a day-long festival in Nepal. This day is celebrated to honor mothers and motherhood. On this day, people offer sweets, clothes, and other gift items to their mothers. According to

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

tradition, the festival is celebrated on the new moon that falls in the month of Baisakh as per the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

. Matatirtha Pond is a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

site on the western outskirts of

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

visited to remember deceased mothers. It is believed that those who take a holy bath in Mata Tirtha and offer ''tarpan'' today helps his/her mother reach salvation and bring prosperity to the family. Legend states that people can see their departed mother's face in the pond.

References

Hindu festivals in Nepal {{Nepal-culture-stub