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Kathmandu Sunday November 18, 2001 Marga 03, 2058.
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With Bhai Tika, the festival of lights
concludes
Perina Pathak
KATHMANDU, Nov 17 –With the finish of
Bhai Tika (Brother’s Day) , the last day of the Tihar festival, the entire festive
season has come to an end.
This year’s two main festivals Vijaya
Dashami and Dipawali occurred in the month of Kartik (from mid October to mid November)
and all Hindus throughout the world observed the festivals with joy and fun.
Bhai Tika is the last day of the five-day
festival Tihar, which was observed by brothers and sisters yesterday.
The day of brothers and sisters - Bhai Tika
is also known as Yamapanchak and Kija Puja. On this day sisters offer their brothers clean
and sacred place to sit down and encircle the place with pure water and mustard oil so as
not to allow evil things in.
Sisters put on colourful tika on the forehead
of their brothers and garland them with makhamali flowers praying the Almighty to protect
their brothers from all sorts of evils.
During the worship, sisters also offer their
brothers delicious food items and sweets like sel roti, fruit, dry fruit and many more.
Sisters break the hard walnut with one hit to
avoid all sorts of problems that may fall on their brothers in future. With this the Bhai
puja ends.
For Bhai puja, which literally means the
worship of brothers, sisters invite their brothers to their homes or vice versa some days
ahead - within four-days from the beginning of Yama Panchak till Govardhan puja.
According to Arjun Prasad Rimal, a priest,
the legend has it that in ancient times, a girl’s brother was very ill and Yamaraj
(God of Death) came to take his soul. The girl pleaded Yamaraj not to take her brother
until she finished her puja to her brother.
After finishing the puja (worship),Yamaraj
returned to take her brother. She again pleaded not to take him until the oil dried, the
makhamali flower withered and the walnuts decayed ,which she used during her puja.
Yamaraj promised that he would fulfil her
wish. However, the oil did not dry up in the whole year, makhamali flower did not wither
at all and the walnut did not show any signs of decay. On seeing this Yamaraj became very
happy with her for her love towards her brother and blessed her with her brother’s
long life and prosperity.
Since that day sisters have come on praying
for their brother’s longevity and prosperity offering them with makhamali
flower’s garland and brothers also made it the tradition to offer their sisters with
special gifts.
Those without brothers or sisters, yesterday,
offered puja at Bal Gopal temple situated in the centre of Ranipokhari.
On the same occasion, Anjali Devi Maskey offered holy tika to
250 brothers, without any sisters, collectively at the temple of Lord Gorakhnath in
Kasthamandap.
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