Month-long festival kicks off at Doleshwor, Ashapuri Mahadev temples

Bhaktapur – A month-long religious festival has kicked off at the Hindu temples-- Doleshwor and the Ashapuri Mahadev--based in Sipadole of Suryabinayak Municipality-8. 

The formal inaugural celebrations of the Doleshwor temple festival were held this morning. A kalash yatra (religious procession) was held from the Chandrabinayak Ganesh Temple to the Doleshwor. 

According to Doleshwor Mahadev Protection and Development Committee senior vice chair Kiran Thapa, the 38-day festival got started from today, the first day of the Nepali month Saun which is dedicated to the worship of Hindu god Shiva (Mahadev). 

Funds to be raised during the festival will be spent for the temple's master plan. Arrangements are in place so that a devotee need not stay for more than one hour in queue to pay homage to the deity. 

Likewise, the month-long festival began at the Ashapuri Mahadev Temple, marking the month of Saun. It is believed that one's wishes are fulfilled by paying a visit to the temple in this special time. 

Devotees from the Kathmandu Valley and also from neighbouring district Kavrepalanchowk throng the temple during the festival period. People arrive here to perform the Rudri Puja (worship dedicated to the god Rudra, another name of Mahadev). 

Similarly, devotees throng another famous Hindu temple in the district, the Dattatraya Temple, on every Monday of the month of Saun. 
---