Kathmandu - Every year from Paush Shukla Purnima to Magh Shukla Purnima, the month-long swasthani fasting and moon bath are being started from today.
Kathmandu - Every year from Paush Shukla Purnima to Magh Shukla Purnima, the month-long swasthani fasting and moon bath are performed.On the day of Paush Shukla Chaturdashi, it begins by cutting the nails of the hands and feet, taking a bath and wearing clean clothes.Mahadev is worshiped daily at midday after taking Magha bath in the morning.In the evening, there is a tradition of listening to the story of Swasthani Vrat, a dialogue between Magha Mahatmya and Kumar Agastya, under the Kedar section of Skanda Purana.
Fasting with this method for one month, on the full moon day of Magh Shukla, one hundred and eight people, one hundred and eight betel nuts, one hundred and eight betel leaves, one hundred and eight flowers, one hundred and eight roti,one hundred and eight Akshatas of various kinds of fruits, incense, lamps, Naivedya, Shrikhand. , sandalwood, vermilion, clothes, offerings are offered to Bhagwati to fulfill the wishes of the fast.Out of all the offerings, eight-eight to the husband, if there is no husband to the son, and if there is no son to the son-in-law, and if there is no son-in-law, then there is a fasting method in which the wishes are fulfilled in the nearby holy river.
Bratalu eats 100 roti fruit and stays awake at night.During Jagrama, it is said to share and listen to the mahatmya of the goddess. There is a religious belief that if you do this, Bertalu's wishes will be fulfilled. Swasthani literally means the goddess of the place where she lives. Worshiping the goddess of the place where you live is a Swasthani worship. Since the time after Uttarayana is suitable for meditation and yoga sadhana, it is believed that practicing Swasthana, i.e. practicing contact with your soul, is called Swasthani. For this, the time from Paush Shukla Purnima to Magh Shukla Purnima is considered good.
Prof. Ramachandra Gautam, a theologian, informed that the goddess with golden color, three eyes, pleasant posture, sitting on a lotus throne, and having four arms is referred to as Swasthani Devi in Skanda Purana. "It is mentioned in the Puranas that among Swasthani's four hands, Goddess Swasthani is the one who holds Neelkamal in the first hand, Khadga in the second hand, Shield in the third hand and Varadamudra in the fourth hand," he said.
If a ritual of these kind of Goddess is done following the proper procedure, the separated couple is also believed to be reunited. There is also a popular story in the Nepali community that if you have a disease, you will be cured and if you wish for someone as your husband or wife, you will get it. The story of Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayan mountain in the Satya Yuga, fasted on Swasthani as instructed by Vishnu to get Mahadev as her husband, is described in Swasthani. It is mentioned in the story that after the fast, the Nag-Nagini, who were separated, were also reunited.
Historian Prakash Shrestha 'Sakw', who is researching the historical, religious, archeological, cultural and touristic aspects of Sankhu, told the story of how the Goma Brahmin fasted according to the fasting method taught by Saptarishi, was freed from the loss of his son and due to the effect of the fast, his son Navraj Lavanya became the king of the current Sankhu region.
On this occasion, a Madhavnarayan fair is held in Shali river at Sankhu, which is 18 km away in the north-eastern part of the valley, and will be held for a month from today. Milions of devotees are present throughout the month in the fair, which has been going on since ancient times.
