Chaite Dashain, Ram Nawami being celebrated

Devotees are thronging various temples across the country to offer prayers to Goddess Durga and celebrate Chaite Dashain, one of the important festivals of Hindus, Friday.

Regarded as the second Dashain, after the biggest Hindu festival of Bada Dashain, the festival is celebrated on Chatashtami.

The day is also observed as a public holiday with most government offices, banks and private offices closed. Meanwhile, the chariot procession of Seto Machhindranath also begins from today in Kathmandu. The chariot procession, which will begin at 4 pm from Jamal, will be halted at Ason this evening.

The procession will conclude after the chariot is taken to Kala Bhairav and Lagan tomorrow and a day after that respectively.

The chariot is followed by a platoon of soldiers dressed in ancient uniforms and muskets. Gunshots are fired at the start of the procession and also when the chariot stops for the night at specified locations.

Similarly, Ramnawami, another major Hindu festival, is being celebrated all over Nepal by offering prayers to Lord Rama.

The day is observed as the birth anniversary of Lord Rama. Devotees have deep belief and extreme faith in Lord Rama as he is regarded as another incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

His life story is told in the much beloved epic- the Ramayana.

The festival is celebrated with much pomp and fanfare at Janaki temple in Janakpur city in southern Nepal. nepalnews.com Apr 03 09