Jya Punhi / Panauti Jatra/ Poornima Wrata | ज्यापुन्ही / पनौती जात्रा / पूर्णिमा व्रत | 2078 Aashadha 10 | Hamro Patro

Jya: Punhi | Panauti Jatra | Poornima Vrat

The eighth month of the Newa calendar is Tachala which coincides with the second month of Bikram Samvat. The full moon begins on the 15th day, starting with the new moon. This month is also divided into Shuklapaksha and Chandrapaksha which are called Tachala Thwa and Tachala Ga.

 Now we would like to present here the two great Newa festivals brought by the divine month of Tachla, in which Sithi Nakha falls on the sixth of Shukla Paksha. We have already given the details of this Sithi Nakha. In short, this Sithi Nakha is a festival of water source sanitation, community unity, and worship of Kumar Kartik.

 Now let's talk about the day of the full moon which is also called Gaindu Purne. On this day all Hindus and Buddhists celebrate together with joy. For Buddhists, this day is celebrated as Jya Punhi. It is said that Prince Siddhartha left home in search of knowledge on this day.

There are some arguments that Buddha left his wife and son at home when he left home and thus disturbed his wife and son by abandoning domestic life and acquiring tragedy but several Buddhist scriptures acknowledge Yashodhara for her contribution and support to Buddha in his knowledge pursuit. In any case, on this full moon, Gautama Buddha gave up his domestic life to gain knowledge. The importance of this full moon is associated with knowledge and sacrifice, so the Newa community celebrates this full moon with joy. The originality of this pilgrimage is connected with the ancient and holy city of Panauti, 30 km southeast of Kathmandu.

As a tributary of the Roshi, Punyamati, and Padmavati rivers, Panauti is a sacred city in Nepal that has been preserving art and cultural heritages for thousands of years. This Jatra is a fest of mating ritual between Lord Unmata Bhairava and Goddesses Bhadrakali. In this rath yatra, the intercourse analogy between Lord Bhairava and Bhadrakali is depicted and indirectly expressed, so it is customary to do some stages of the rath yatra secretly at night. During the rath yatra, the chariots are taken to different places of the city, and water is sprinkled on the chariots.

It takes 9 days to complete the Archana and Jatra versions of Jya Punhi, therefore the arrival and departure of Punhi last for 9 days. Dashami of Shuklapaksha, the Achanju priest offers sacrifices to the Tantric deities. On this auspicious day, the holy bath in the Punyamati Khola and Roshi Khola, also known as Roshimati are of special importance. This ritual is also called the Panauti bath.

We want to tell a little legend when the river Punyamati was flooded many years ago and the priest had to cross the river to worship Brahmani and Bhadrakali. At the same time, the story of the priest crossing the river with the help of Vasuki Nag is heard throughout the procession.

This year's Jya Punhi or Panauti Punhi or Gaihu Purne, whatever you say, best wishes for this Purne. May the calm, civilized, positive, and inspiring energy always move in our life like the full moon of Shukla paksha. This is a year of adversity and uncertainty, COVID19 Pandemic has an immense impact on our culture, festivals, and congregations. The Panauti Jatra is canceled, construction of chariots will now happen in the coming years, those historic woods of chariots have golden memories, utmost wishes, and desires for god grace.

Poornima Vrat

The last day of Shukla Paksha is the full moon day. On this tithi, the moon is the brightest and magnificent. It is believed that fasting on this day brings immense lunar grace to health, prosperity, and peace. On the full moon day, Lord Shiva and Vishnu are especially worshiped. Special worship to Lord Vishnu is done in the form of Satya Narayan Puja. Satya Narayan Puja is usually performed whenever possible, although the fruits of this puja performed on the day of the full moon are very abundant.

From a scientific point of view, it is said that gravity will have a great effect on the earth on the day of the full moon and self-purification will be done by fasting on this day and remembering the name of God. By fasting on this day, the metabolic process will be strengthened, gastric problems will be solved and positive energy will increase in the body.

This day is fasted from sunrise in the morning to moonrise in the evening. Some people observe this fast without drinking water, while others observe this fast by eating only one meal and eating no salt (alino) food. In the evening, after the moonrise, the fast ends with the sighting of the moon. Happy Jestha Shukla Purnima to everyone this year.

Let there be an end to the flood and landslide, let there be the protection of both religion and the followers of religion.

Suyog Dhakal