Newars also change Janai on Janai Purnima

Kathmandu, Aug. 9:  Janai Purnima, one of the major Hindu festivals, is being celebrated on Saturday, the full moon day, by offering prayers to Lord Shiva, changing the janai (sacred thread), tying yellow-red threads around the wrist, and eating kwati, a soup prepared from nine different sprouted beans.

On this day, several rituals take place. First, men wear the sacred thread after taking an early morning bath. Second, sisters offer Raksha Bandhan by fastening the sacred thread (raksha sutra) around their brothers’ right wrists as an amulet, wishing them protection from harm, and eat kwati. The yellow-red thread is purified by priests by chanting mantras.

The festival is considered sacred throughout the nation and is observed in different ways by various communities.

The hill communities celebrate it as Raksha Bandhan, Janai Purnima, and Rishitarpani,  the Madhesi community celebrates it as Rakhi, and the Newar community celebrates as Gunhu Punhi.

The name Janai Purnima comes from the sacred thread (janai), worn diagonally from the left shoulder to the right waist across the chest, accompanied by the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra.

A highlight of Janai Purnima is kwati, a hot soup made from sprouted beans. In Nepal Bhasa, ‘kwa’ means hot and “ti” means soup. Traditionally, nine varieties of beans, such as moong, masoor, soybeans, cowpeas, chickpeas, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, horse gram, and buckwheat are soaked for two days until they sprout, then cooked into a nutritious soup believed to prevent illness.

Significance of Janai

According to Hindu tradition, wearing the janai has been practised by men from the Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya varnas after undergoing the Bratabandha ritual.

 During this ritual, a guru (priest) whispers the Gayatri Mantra into the initiator’s ear, ensuring no one else hears it. The guru then gives the sacred thread.

The janai consists of six raw yarn threads, tied into two groups of three. One group represents Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwar, and the other represents karma (action), upasana (worship), and jnana (knowledge). Tradition dictates that the janai is changed annually on this day.

People also get yellow-red protective threads tied around their wrists by Brahmins, believed to offer year-long protection.

Janai Purnima in Newar Culture

In Nepal Bhasa, the day is called Gunu Punhi, the full moon of the month of Gunla. The Newar community prepares kwati too. 

Pritam Raj Rajopadhyaya, priest of Shesh Narayan Temple of Dakshinkali Municipality, said that priests in the Newar community also change their sacred thread on this day.

 Only Rajopadhyaya use janai consisting of six raw yarn threads;  Karmacharya, Rajbhandari, Joshi, Pradhan, and Maharjan use one consisting of half the raw yarn threads.

According to Uddhav Man Karmacharya, priest of Taleju Temple in Hanumandhoka, certain Newar castes like Karmacharya, Rajbhandari, Rajopadhyaya, Joshi, Pradhan, and Maharjan also change their sacred thread on this day. They prepare the sacred thread themselves instead of buying it from the market.

They usually perform the change at home after bathing, chanting mantras, and only wear it after receiving diksha from a guru.

Major Janai Purnima celebrations are held at places including Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, Kumbeshwar Mahadev in Bhaktapur, Gosaikunda in Rasuwa, Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar in Janakpur, Dudhkunda in Solukhumbu, Halesi in Khotang, Dan Sadhu in Jumla, and Nagarkot, as well as other Mahadev temples and Triveni Dham.

Janai Purnima is also called Rishitarpani because janai wearers offer tarpan (ritual offerings) to the seven sages — Kashyap, Atri, Bharadwaj, Gautam, Jamadagni, Vishwamitra, and Arundhati — along with worshipping Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwar.