Nepal: People celebrate Bala Chaturdashi festival at Pashupatinath Temple

On Bala Chaturdashi, people in Nepal lit lamps and cast them into the Bagmati River, which flows by the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.

In Nepal, Bala Chaturdashi is observed in honour of departed family members. On the river, people float oil lamps in an effort to illuminate the afterlife for departed souls. On the bank of the Bagmati River, facing the Pashupatinath Temple, pilgrims spend the entire night awake.

Ram Mani Chalise said, “It’s been three years since I lost my mother. I have been offering the lamps in her memory, which are believed to give her salvation in her afterlife.”
Chalise added, “We stayed awake the whole night, and now we are performing rituals. Flowers are offered on the river for the salvation of deceased souls and make them cross the rivers on their way to heaven.”

Beginning on Marga Krishna Trayodashi, the thirteenth day of the waning moon in the month of Mangsir, rituals for the Bala Chaturdashi celebration are performed (8th month according to the Nepali calendar).

People who follow this custom fast and only eat one meal a day. On that day, people avoid eating foods like fish, eggs, garlic, onions, and other similar foods.

People go to the Lord Shiva shrines or the Pashupatinath Temple in the evening, where they recite prayers and hymns all night long.

The “Akhanda Jyoti” is lit in honour of the deceased family members. The following morning, after taking a bath, they set out to circumnavigate the grounds of the Pashupatinath temple while scattering seven different types of grains. The grains include rice, barley, sesame, wheat, chickpeas, maize, and foxtail millet.

Goma Neupane said, “As we disperse the mixture of seven grains here, it is believed that departed souls will receive it in their after-life. Grains are dispersed according to their name, and we remain awake all night.”
The people walk along Kailash-Suryaghat-Gaurighat-Aryaghat-Guhyeshwari-Mrigasthali-Bishworup-Kirateshwar-108.