Dashain’s seventh day Phulpati today

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Oct 2 :  Sunday is the seventh day of Bada Dashain.

Celebrated as Phulpati, Hindus across the nation mark the day by bringing sugarcane, ginger, banana and Bael leaves and an assortment of fruits into their homes.

In the old Hanumandhoka Palace of Kathmandu, Phulpati is ‘brought’ from the Gorkha district which was the state the former Shah kings of Nepal ruled before Prithvi Narayan Shah unified the country. Six persons belonging to the Magar caste group bring the Phulpati from Gorkha to Dhading and six Brahmins then bring it from Dhading to Jamal, Kathmandu.

From Jamal, the ritual items are brought to Hanumandhoka by the Gurujyuko Paltan platoon of the Nepali Army accompanied by members of the police and the Armed Police Force as well as by musical processions.  The army also holds a feu de joie (fire of joy) at the Army Pavilion of Tudikhel on the occasion.

In the evening, people worship the ferocious goddess Kaalratri. She is considered the goddess of courage who destroys demons, evil spirits and ghosts and is depicted riding a donkey. Her images also show her as having three eyes and wearing a garland of skulls around her neck.

According to priest Madhav Chalise, Kaalratri sacrificed her skin colour and chose to have a dark complexion to kill the demons. She is worshipped with the mantra ‘Om Devi Kaalratryai Nama’ and is offered jaggery during puja, he informed.

In Kathmandu, people visit the temples dedicated to various goddesses, especially around Pashupati and pray to Vatsala Mai.

Cultural scholars and experts believe that the worship of Durga in Dashain shows Nepali society’s reverence for Matrishakti (motherly power) and the importance placed on the concept of Devi (a supernatural extension of the female form) for the defeat of evil and triumph of good.