Enjoy exploring the widely celebrated Shivaratri Festival in Nepal, especially in Pashupatinath Temple and its premises, where millions of devotees pay their homage with a joy and excitement.
Maha Shivaratri Festival in Nepal is a widely celebrated festival in Nepal, especially by the Hindu devotees. The literal meaning of Shivaratri is “Night of the Shiva”, which is celebrated by worshipping Lord Shiva and His mythical tales. The principle of Lord Shiva is remembered, which is a special side of this celebration. The festival night takes place on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of the Magha month, according to the calendar.
The festival Shivaratri is celebrated throughout the country with the joy and excitement with the spiritual energy, marking the union of Shiva and Shakti. On the specific night, people also perform a spiritual dance, named as Tandav Dance.
To link the festival with the myth and traditions of the Shivaratri celebration, the devotees of Lord Shiva offer milk, flowers and an intoxicating plant named as Dhaturo and Belpatra with other worshipping materials as oil lamps. People also love to recall the story of the wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, which is also one of the reasons to celebrate by the devotees.
Pashupatinath Temple of Kathmandu, which is located beside the holy Bagmati River, is the most popular destination in Nepal for the Hindu devotees. It is not only the holiest Hindu shrine in Nepal, but also the best renowned spiritual center in the world. Millions of Hindu devotees, culture loving people and the tourists around the world gather on this special day with a great joy and curiosity.
The celebration of Shivaratri will be done with a simple feast on the specific night. Devotees will keep themselves busy with the enchanting Mahamrityujanya mantra and Om Namo Shivaya. Thousands of Sadhus and devotees from India and different parts of the world settle themselves around the Pashupatinath temple and they perform various activities with music, chants, jokes, laughs, prayers, meditations and pay their homage.
Shivaratri Festival: Special in Pashupatinath
The official celebration starts at midnight with the priests performing their special worshipping. The devotees jump in the River and they bring the holy water from the River and they offer the water to the image of Lord Shiva in the stone sculpture. People sing, chant with the mythical takes about Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
According to the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), only in 2020, a crowd of 1.3 million people from across the world visited the Pashupatinath temple and offered their homage. A large group of volunteers were there to manage the crowds along the governmental forces.
As the day begins, the devotees start to visit the temple by lining in a queue. This includes the devotees from Nepal, India and the devotees around the world. Worshipping in the temple is a popular thing to do. Beside this, the Sadhus that shelter around the premises of the Pashupatinath temple are also the attractions for the people who visit the temple.
Different types of Sadhus come to the Pashupatinath temple, especially from different parts of Nepal and India. One of the categories of the Sadhus is Naga Sect. Naga Baba are famous for their behaviours and their acts. Although it is controversial of spreading the negative message and immoral performance, it has been continuing from the beginning. Naga Baba settle down in different spots and as the literal meaning, they do not hesitate to display their sexual organs and perform sexually oriented shows- sitting naked, covered with ash or smoking marijuana during the festival.
Is Hashish Legal in Shivaratri? Assumption Vs Reality
This is one of the main questions people ask as they assume that consuming the intoxicating plant- Ganja (hashish) is legal. It is absolutely wrong. This is a wrong assumption of the devotees and other people as they will see sages around the Pashupatinath temple premises selling and buying hashish. Not only in Pashupatinath temple, is this aspect equally common throughout the country. But a civilized celebration is expected, not by the intoxication inhalation. It is illegal.