Panauti’s Jya-Punhi Jatra concludes

By Kedar Timalsina

Banepa, June 24: Jya Punhi, the rare suggestive Jatra of Panauti Municipality in Kavrepalanchowk district, concluded on Saturday.

The people of this tiny town mark the three-day festival in monsoon every year when they are busy planting paddy. The name of the festival itself suggests that it is marked amidst works because the Newari word ‘Jya’ stands for work. Normally, people in Nepal begin planting paddy in mid-June. 

Despite being busy with farm work, the Panuati residents mark the festival with much fanfare for three days although they give continuity to the festival for nine days. This festival is connected with sex, which is a taboo in Nepali society.

The festival concluded by colliding the chariots of Unmatta Bhairav, Bhadrakali and Indreshwor Mahadev on the premises of the Layaku Palace of Panauti on the full moon day on Saturday. The collision of the chariots symbolises sexual encounter.

A myth related to the rare Jatra goes like this. Once Goddess Parvati took the form of a 64 Yogini and chased away Lord Mahadev (Shiva). To avoid Yogini, Mahadev hid in the confluence of three rivers in Panauti. But when Mahadev came to know that it was Parvati who was chasing Him, he took the form of Bhairav. Seeing Bhairav, 64 Yogini (Parvati) got scared and ran away in the form of Bhadrakali on the bank of the Roshi River, but Bhairav met her at the Layaku Palace and made love with Bhadrakali from behind. Being satisfied, she became peaceful, and wished to make love in the true form, so Mahadev took His true form and again made love from the front. 

The Panauti locals take the images of the Brhamayani and Bhadrakali from the temples to the river confluence and offer a he-buffalo and two goats and perform worship of Kalaratri to commence the festival. The locals also perform worship of all shrines located in Panauti. 

On the last day, the locals took a holy bath at the confluence of the Punyamati and Roshimati and brought the images of Brhamayani and Indreswar to Layaku Palace where the three chariots of Bhadrakali, Unmatta Bhairava and Mahadev were collided with each other. Interestingly, there is a practice to collide the chariot of Bhadrakarki with Bhairav three times while the Bhadrakali chariot is collided four times with the Chariot of Mahadev. 

This festival is also found linked with the 12-year Makar festival of Panauti. 

Locals take the Jya-Punhi festival also as a time to buy Ghum (traditional raincoat woven by bamboo stripes and covered by leaves) and eat banana.