Dashain Festival in Nepal: Dates, Importance, History, Essay and lot more

Dashain 2016/2073 Dates: Starts from 1st October and lasts till 11 October 2016

On 1st October, Ghatsthapana will be celebrated (celebrated as first day of Vijya Dashami or Durga Pooja).

On 8th October 2016 Fulpati day will be celebrated followed by Astami or Kal Ratri on 9th October 2016.

10th October 2016 will be an important date as Navami will be celebrated that day.

Vijayadashmi will be celebrated in 11th October 2016 which will be the last day of Dashain 2016.

We will soon share the compleete schedule for Dashaim 2017 dates.

Dashain resembles Dussehra in India and is celebrated by all Nepali Hindus across the globe. Talking about the roots then Dashain represents victory of Goddess Parvati over the Mahishasura demon. In the 10 day long festival, first 9 days indicate the journey/fight that Maa Durgaa/Paravati fought using her different manifestations. Each day is dedicated to different manifestation of Maan Durga and 0th day is celebrated as victory day when Mahishasura was defeated and killed by Paravati Mata.

Among 10 days, 5 days are of great importance. Here is the detailed view of most important days in Dashain Nepali calendar.

1. 1st day (Ghatasthapana/घटस्थापना dashain)

Sthapana means setting up the foundation of something. Ghat in Nepali language means a auspicious pot (kalasha). So ghatsthapna means setting up the foundation for 10 days long Dahain festival. Ghat here signifies Maa Durga who is supposed to kill evil from everyone's heart. On the first day, Ghat is filled up with holy water (wither from some holy river or the water is made holy by using old chants). Cow dung and barley seeds are used to cover and swe this kalash. It is made to settle on a sand block that is made rectangular in shape. It is said that Maa Durga resides in the Kalsha for 9 days during the festival.

5. Day 10: Dashami or Bijaya Dashami or Vijaya Dashami

Dasham indicates last day of Dashain and is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami. ON this pious occasion, Nepali women use to prepare special dish called Tika which is a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermilion. It is a beautful day where elders give blessing to younger relative and other family members (who are younger in age). When monarchy system was there in Nepal then huge number of people used to gather at old royal palace to take Tika from royal family.

Looking for essay on Dashain festival in Nepali? I believe we have already shared enough content out of which you can easily extract your essay (for 3-5 minutes) easily. Just one tip, while delivering lecture/speech on Dashain, do try to speak out your own experience only (you can obviously use basic stuff like importance, why it is celebrated. customs etc) but try to focus majorly on how you yourself have seen Dashain celebration in Nepal. It will help you with audience engagement and your listeners will never feel bored as they will get to hear to real things not theories only.

Dashain seems to be incomplete without songs and related entertainment stuff. Songs like Sugam Pokhrel, Babiyo Kater etc has made it to everyone's heart. You can easily find Dashain songs videos, mp3 here. Do check out one of the video for Dashain Dhoon/Songs: