 |
|
| Kathmandu, Sunday May 12, 2002 Baishakh 29, 2059. |
|
Mother’s
Day being observed today
Post Report
KATHMANDU, May 11 :
"Matri deva bhaba, pitri deva bhava, athiti deva bhava, guru deva bhava", which
literally means that mother, father, guest and teacher are gods and goddesses. In Hindu
religion people worship mother, father, guest and teacher as gods and goddesses.
"Guru
Purnima" is the Teacher’s Day, "Bubako mukh herne din" is the
Father’s Day and similarly "Aamako mukh herne din" is the Mother’s
Day, which falls on 12 May , Sunday, this year.
Hindus throughout the
world observes this sanctified day as the day to worship mother. Citizens of Kathmandu,
the capital of the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, also celebrates the day by paying
reverence to their mothers.
"I have planned to
give shoes and sari as presents to my mother," said Sunila Sharma, 21-year-old girl.
"Unlike last year I am not financially weak because I have been working for the last
five months and I have saved enough money to spend on such occasions."
"We have also
planned to give treat to our mother," shouts Sunila’s brother, who have also
saved enough for his mother. "This is the first time we are going to give her this
grand surprise."
Like Sunila and her
brother, many of the other sons and daughters might have been planning for the day.
Gone are the days when
children used to give similar fruits and sweets on the Mother’s Day. Nowadays, people
prefer something useful and valuable for their mother.
"Mother is the
creator and future of every child, so it is the duty of every child to respect, love and
regard the symbol of love - the mother," said Hari Ram Joshi, cultural expert.
">From the ancient time, teachers used to teach their students to respect mother,
which means that Mother’s Day is a very old practice in human society," he said.
Not only children, even
married women and men enthusiastically celebrate the day by offering gifts and making the
mother feel cherished. While, on the other hand, mother bestows blessing for long life and
prosperity upon her children.
Though it is a
heartbreaking day for those whose mothers have already been passed away, they perform
Shraddha (offering done in the memory of dead one) and visit the holy site of Mata Tirtha
pond situated around four kilometres toward the south-west of the Kathmandu Valley.
On the Mother’s
Day, also known as matri aunsi thousands of devotees, whose mothers have already been
passed away visit the Mata Tirtha pond, where they take bath from the running water spout
and make themselves pure and clean. And then perform Shraddha, chants mantras, light oil
lamps and offer daan (alms) in the memory of his/her mother.
It is believed that in
the Mata Tirtha pond one can see the face of dead mother, who always gives blessings to
their children.
"The exact date
cannot be traced when the mother’s festival began," said Ram Chandra Gautam,
Professor of Theology at Mahendra Sanskrit University..... "It must be an ancient
festival started from the beginning of human life."
According to Gautam,
legend had it that in ancient times when no human life was on the earth, God Bramha
(creator) created Swayambhu Manu and Satarupa, a male and a female.
From the duo three sons
and three daughters were born. The children once a year in the memory of their mother
Satarupa visited her with foods, fruits and sweets. From then onwards, every generation of
people visited their parents on the Father’s and Mother’s Day.
"It is believed
that from the time of first human beings Manu and Satarupa, the day was observed.
Therefore this festival is not of recent discovery but is in practice since the time
immemorial," said Gautam.
Other Stories
|
