Teej and Rishi Panchani

Teej or Haritalika is purely a women's festival.  Celebrated for marital bliss, well being of spouse and children and purification of own body, this three day festival follows in close succession and is also the time for observing religious fast for women folks in Nepal.   It is also celebrated to welcome the arrival of monsoon session in the country after a season of oppressive heat. On the day of Teej all the women observe fasting for twenty-four hours for the longevity of their husbands' life and go to visit the shrine of Pashupatinath and offer worship to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati later in the evening.

 
Unmarried girls also observe fast on this day and wish for a happy and prosperous married life. The first day of Teej is called the "Dar Khane Din". On this day the women, both married and unmarried assemble at one place, in their finest attires and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Amidst all this, the grand feast takes place. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24 - hour fast starts the third and the concluding day of the festival is known as Rishi Panchami which is mainly devoted to cleaning the body by taking ritual bath in rivers for getting rid of any sin or impurity the women folks may have committed during the past Year. On this day women worship the seven Rishis. The Panchami is mainly devoted to cleaning the body by taking ritual bath in rivers for any sin or impurity the women folks may have committed during the past year.  On this day women worship the seven Rishis in reminiscence of a high ascetic tradition of Hinduism and a notion of purity of descent in their lineage from the ancestral Rishis. After the completion of the previous day's Puja, women pay homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan (brush) taken out from the Neem tree (Neem -Azadirachta indica, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to Nepal, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; along with its leaves solely for the purpose of bodily purification which in turn is believed to purify the human spirit as well. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all sins. All women whose husbands are alive are seen wearing red garments invariable and decked in all sorts of jewellery on these two days. The whole Kingdom turns into a colourful carnival on this particular day of Teej festivities.

Glance of Nepal