Fulpati being observed today

Kathmandu, October 10 — The Fulpati festival, celebrated every year on the seventh day of the Durga Pakshha, is being observed today with the traditional bringing of Fulpati into homes as a symbol of auspiciousness. Fulpati, a medley of auspicious flowers, leaves, and fruits from various plants, is ritually anointed at the Dashain Ghar on the seventh day of the Bada Dashain festival.

Since the day of Ghatasthapana, worship and rituals have been performed for Durga, invoking her with various offerings including sugarcane, turmeric, banana plants, rice stalks, stone apple leaves, pomegranate, jasmine, ashoka flowers, and the manbrikshha, all brought in as symbols of auspiciousness.

According to Dr. Ramchandra Gautam, former chairman of the Nepal Panchanga Prakashan Committee and a scholar of religious texts, Fulpati, also known as Navapatrika, represents the nine goddesses worshipped during the festival. He explained that each offering corresponds to different deities: Brahmayani with the banana, Lakshmi with rice, Durga with turmeric, Chamunda with the human tree, Kalika with sugarcane, Shiva with stone apple leaves, and Shokarahita with ashoka flowers, all considered assistants of Navadurga.

There is a classical belief that these assistant deities strengthen the main goddess. After bringing in Fulpati, the nine goddesses are worshipped according to tradition. Former chairman Gautam noted that a specific auspicious time is not required for bringing in Fulpati.

Additionally, there is a tradition of bringing Fulpati from Gorkha to the Dashain house in Hanumandhoka. Six members of the Magar community, along with priests, bring it from Gorkha to Jiwanpur in Dhading, and then six Brahmins transport it from Jiwanpur to Jamal in Kathmandu.

From Jamal to Hanumandhoka, a grand procession with high-ranking government officials, Gurjuka troops, bands, and cultural performances accompanies the Fulpati. Until the monarchy was in place, the king would also attend this ceremony as the head of state; however, since the establishment of the republic, the Minister of Culture has been present, as noted by the Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum Development Committee.

The social festivities surrounding Dashain, or Durga Puja, which begin with the Vedic rituals of Ghatasthapana and the planting of jamara on Ashwin Shukla Pratipada, start to increase today.

With government offices closing for the festival, many people involved in various professions and businesses will return home with their families to receive the blessings of Durga Bhawani in the form of tika, leading to a further increase in movement. 

As a result, rural areas in Nepal will see an increase in the festive atmosphere today with the installation of swings and rotating swings at junctions and public squares, enhancing the celebration of Dashain.