Bajrabarahi Jatra begins after three years

By Our Correspondent,Makwanpur, May 4: The Bajrabarahi (Ajima) Jatra has begun in Bajrabarahi, located in Ward-6 of Thaha Municipality in northern Makwanpur.

The festival, which takes place every three years, started on Saturday. It is celebrated for three days following Chandi Purnima. 

According to local, Pramod Joshi, on the first day of the festival, deities are brought from the villages and placed at the shrine of Bajrabarahi.

On the second day, which is the main day of the Jatra, offerings along with sacrificial items are brought from each household in every village, and worship is performed throughout the day.

On the third day, the deities brought from the villages are returned. Worship is conducted according to Tantric rituals, and there is a local belief that Bajrabarahi is the guardian deity of the Tistung area; hence, human well-being is achieved only by pleasing and worshipping her.Among the four Barahi deities believed to protect the Kathmandu Valley, one is located in Lalitpur. The Bajrabarahi of Thaha Municipality in Makwanpur is regarded as the mother of the Lalitpur Bajrabarahi.

Traditionally, the Jatra begins on the Saturday following the full moon of Baisakh.The festival is managed by the Ward- 6 Office of Thaha Municipality and the local Guthi Management Committee.

Devotees and visitors attend the festival not only from nearby municipalities of Thaha but also from the Kathmandu Valley.The Jatra and the Guthi are sustained through income generated from 204 ropanis of land owned by the Guthi.

 Participants celebrate the festival joyfully in their traditional attire, accompanied by cultural music and instruments.Before the Jatra begins, priests are required to perform nightly worship at the temple from Sunday to Thursday, starting a week in advance.

A public holiday has been declared in Thaha Municipality, Makwanpur, on Monday of this Baisakha. The decision was made by the municipal executive meeting on the occasion of the Bajrabarahi (Ajima) triennial Jatra.

Chief Administrative Officer Niraj Paudel issued a notice stating that a public holiday has been declared throughout Thaha Municipality in honour of the historic Bajrabarahi Jatra. The municipality has been granting such holidays during Jatra festivals to help preserve cultural traditions and fairs.