Navaratri begins with Ghatasthapana

 By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Oct. 12: The nine-night festival of Navaratri, celebrated as Bada Dashain, has begun across Nepal with the observance of Ghatasthapana, the first day of the festival. On this occasion, Hindu households and temples performed religious rituals, sowed seeds for Jamara and worshipped Goddess Shailaputri, the first form of Goddess Durga. 

On the occasion, families across the country sowed barley, maize and other grains in soil-filled vessels to grow the sacred Jamara, which is offered along with tika to younger family members on Bijaya Dashami. Devotees also established the sacred Kalash, a water-filled vessel, and worshipped Goddess Durga according to Vedic traditions.

Special ceremonies were held at the Dashain Ghar in the historic Hanumandhoka Palace in Kathmandu and at the Dashain Ghar of Gorkha Palace. Rituals were also performed at the Gorkhakali and Gorakhnath temples, the Gorakhnath Baba cave and other religious sites in Gorkha district.