Sudurpaschim Celebrates Main Day of Gaura Festival with Two-Day Holiday

 Baitadi, August 31


Today marks the main day of the Gaura festival, an important celebration in Sudurpaschim Province, including Baitadi, observed as Durvashtami or Athawali.


According to priest Jayananda Bhatt, Gaura idols brought into homes yesterday evening are taken today by fasting women to the Gaura temple courtyard (Gaurakhala) for worship. Women spend the day singing traditional faag songs and offering biruda, a mix of five grains, to Goddess Gaura.


Women also wear dubdhago, a sacred thread offered to the goddess, similar to the janai that men wear during annual rituals. The idols are decorated and carried from the Gaura house to the courtyard, where women sing Athawali hymns and perform rituals that tell Gaura’s story and her marriage to Lord Maheshwar.


After the rituals, biruda is placed on the heads of husbands, children, and relatives as a blessing for long life and prosperity. Men observe the day by playing traditional games such as Thadokhel and Dhuskodhamari.


Cultural expert Acharya Bishnudatta Bhatt said the festival is marked by women fasting and praying for marital happiness, prosperity, children, and family well-being. Gaura is celebrated in Sudurpaschim even more than Dashain, with many migrants returning home, and married daughters traditionally visiting their maternal homes.


On the occasion, a two-day public holiday has been declared in Sudurpaschim. The federal government announced Sunday, August 31 (Bhadra 15) as a holiday, while the provincial government declared Monday, September 1 (Bhadra 16), giving people two consecutive days off.

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