Dashain Rituals Rooted In Nature

Dashain is a mythological festival deeply rooted in ancient scriptures. While the Puranas mention the festival, they do not detail specific ritual procedures. Instead, the texts describe worshipping Goddess Durga to gain inner strength, achieve victory through that power, and express profound gratitude through celebration. Over time, Dashain evolved from a strictly religious practice into a vibrant social tradition. Today, the overwhelming popularity and widespread observance of Dashain are primarily driven by its strong social and community bonds. Even Nepalis living abroad celebrate Dashain with immense joy, passion, and enthusiasm. The heart of the festival lies in family reunions, shared togetherness, and honouring age-old cultural values.

Historically, our society observed four distinct Dashain festivals corresponding to the four seasons: Vasanta (Spring), Grishma (Summer), Sharad (Autumn), and Shishir (Winter). These were traditionally celebrated across four months: Chaitra, Ashadh, Ashwin/Kartik, and Poush. Today, however, most people primarily celebrate Chaite Dashain and Bada Dashain.

Our traditional festivals are intrinsically linked to nature, agriculture, and the environment, usually celebrated after harvesting major crops. Ghatasthapana involves placing holy water into a sacred vessel (Ghada) and invoking rivers, oceans, clouds, and the goddesses Mahalakshmi, Mahakali, and Mahasaraswati. The ritual begins by respectfully sowing barley seeds in the worship room, bringing agricultural life indoors. As the first day of the fortnight-long Dashain festival, Ghatasthapana The first day of the fortnight-long Dashain festival, Ghatasthapana, brims with exceptional fervour and excitement.

While various fruits are offered during worship, Dashain features a unique tradition: offering barley shoots (Jamara) to Goddess Durga and wearing them over the ears or on the head as a blessing. Barley seeds sown in soil and sand are kept covered to sprout into golden yellow shoots; wearing them imparts a distinct sense of sacred energy. Barley also holds significant Ayurvedic value—even communities that do not wear Jamara consume barley juice during Dashain for its health benefits.

Malshree melody and Navaratri

In the Kathmandu Valley, Dashain officially commences with the soulful tunes of the Malshree Dhun. Researchers believe this classical raga was composed during the reign of King Ran Bahadur Shah, evoking the sacred names of Gorakhnath and Goddess Kali.

Accompanied by traditional musical instruments, devotees visit various shrines, sacred spots, and temples of the Goddess throughout the nine days of Navaratri.

The Chandi recitations, comprising 700 verses from the Markandeya Purana, are traditionally recited daily during the nine days of Dashain. The scripture consists of 13 chapters with specific recitation guidelines. Those unable to recite the full text during the prescribed times worship and bow to the holy Chandi scripture throughout the ten days. In some families, reciting the Ramayana during Dashain is also a cherished tradition.

Each day of Navaratri is dedicated to venerating the nine forms of Durga. Although Durga has 32 revered names, nine are most prominent. As mentioned in the Chandi, these nine forms are Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri.