12 August, KATHMANDU : The festival of ‘Janai Purnima’ or ‘Rishi Tarpani’ is being celebrated across the country today.
Janai Purnima is being celebrated by Hindu Nepalis, especially Brahmin and Kshetri communities, on Friday with much fanfare. The festival is celebrated on the full moon of Shukla Paksha in the month of Shravan (July/August).
People are visiting the temples to tie a knot of the holy thread known as ‘Janai’. It marks the bond of security and pureness.
Janai is a sacred thread worn by men in the Brahmin and Kshetri communities. Men take a bath and change their Janai while the priest recites a sacred mantra. It is believed that a person wearing Janai could have control over their body, speech, and mind. Hence, this festival has both cultural and religious significance.
Janai is only worn by men who have already done their Bratabandha (Upanayan) ritual. The sacred thread is regarded as men being bounded by certain responsibilities and vows that they have to follow while continuing the knowledge of their guru.
A Hindu priest is silhouetted against the sky as he performs a ritual during the Janai Purnima festival (Sacred Thread Festival) at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, August 3, 2020.
Hindus take holy baths and change their sacred thread, also known as Janai, for protection and purification, during the festival.
