Janai Purnima : Festival of Scared Thread and Rakshya Bandhan

In Nepal, one of special festival for Janai Purnima (Gunhi Punhi in Newari) . It is also known as Punhi Kwati as well as Rakshya Bandhan. Janai is considered a symbol of body, speech and mind, and when the nodes are bound to gain full control over each of them allegedly the person who wears it.

Janai Purnima is celebrate according to related cultural that in this day, Chettris and brahmin people must be clean from shaving, cutting hair, good bath and taking only one meal with foods that are considered “clean”-no meat, no onions or garlic. They go to river side and change old lanyard worn to new lanyard worn per year. The lanyard worn is across body and this thread is only given to men during a large and impressive religious ceremony called Bratabandhan. Almost all religions have an own type of Bratabandhan. Bratabandhan is basically a formal acceptance of someone in the religion.

In newar community, there is a special offer for Janai Purnimai. This day is also known as “Gunhi Punhi” as well as “Punhi Kwati” where “Kwati” is means soup beans and Punhi means roti as full moon. Newar people wear a scared thread around the wrist must take off during Laxmi puja, Tihar. In this day, Newar farmers offer different kinds of food to frogs, which is considered representative of the God of rain, so it offers a variety of foods contribute to increasing crop production with love.

In Tarai region, this Festival is known as “Rakhi day” or “Raksha Bandhan “ which characterized by tying a rakhi or sacred thread by his sister on the wrist of her brother. The market is full of different colors of rakhis. This Festival is equivalent with Bhai Tika in Tihar in some communities in the whole of Nepal. Brother in return offers a gift to my sister and she promises that about her, as well as presenting the sweet to her brother. Rakhi, provided that they commit a lifetime obligation to provide protection for a woman or girl.

On this day, thousands of people visit the temple of “Kumbhewswar” in Patan, Lalitpur to bath in the holy waters which supposedly originate from the sacred lakes in the “Gosainkunda. In the courtyard around the “Kumbhewar” is very colorful spectacle during this festival. It’s for people who symbolically clean Bathroom facilities.

Pashupatinath, Guheswari , Bhadrakali and other hindu temple will be raised crowd of large number of devotees gather early in the morning to tie sacred cord in your hand.

In this special Festival Government confirmed a public holiday for the people. According to legendary, under the Janai Purnima Festival is held because the Lord Vishnu punished once a proud devotee, known as Bali. Then the Lord Vishnu connects Bali with thread that is afraid and sent him to hell. Then from that day was introduced as a sacred thread (Janai), which is tied around the wrist, or other parts of the body the Hindu people to be without their sins.

Here, some of captured a few shot from Pashupatinath Temple.