KATHMANDU: Haritalika Teej, one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindu women, is being observed throughout the country today.
As per the tradition, Hindu women usually wear red clothes, observe fast, dance during the day and offer their prayers to Lord Shiva wishing for a prosperous life and perpetual luck.
On this day, devotees and revellers throng temples of Lord Shiva including Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu and offer their prayers. The three-day-long celebration includes gatherings, singing, dancing, eating and fasting.
The first day is called 'Dar Khane Din' during which women enjoy a variety of delicious dishes known as ‘Dar’ at their parental home where they are especially invited for this purpose.
The second day is the fasting day or the main day of Teej. Devotees wish for a prosperous life while observing the festival. Women take ritual baths and offer worship while in the evening they pay homage to Lord Shiva, light lamps and spend the night awake.
According to the ‘Skanda Puran’ (a religious scripture of the Hindus), this festival got the name ‘Haritalika Teej’ as it was on this very day in the ‘Satya Yug’ (Golden epoch of truth) that the daughter of Himalaya, Parvati, was hidden by her maids because of her refusal to marry Lord Vishnu.
The final day of the festival is marked by the women performing religious and traditional rituals such as the use of 108 stems of ‘Datiwan’ (a kind of holy plant) while bathing using mud. They also worship the legendary ‘Saptarishis’ (seven sages) and offer alms, thus completing the fast.
Both married and unmarried women perform various ‘pujas’ (worships) and observe fasting, praying for the fulfilment of their wish for a happy and prosperous conjugal life.
As per the tradition, married women celebrate this festival wishing long life for their husbands while the unmarried women who worship Lord Shiva and Parvati are believed to find an eligible groom.
