Baitadi, August 31
The main day of the Gaura festival, celebrated with great significance in Sudurpaschim Province including Baitadi, is being observed today as Durvashtami or Athawali.
According to priest Jayananda Bhatt, Gaura idols brought into homes yesterday evening are today taken by fasting women to the Gaura temple courtyard (Gaurakhala) for worship. Women devotees spend the day singing traditional faag songs and worshipping Goddess Gaura with biruda—a mixture of five different grains.
On this day, women also wear dubdhago, a consecrated thread offered to Goddess Gaura, much like men wear the janai after the annual ritual. Gaura idols are adorned and taken from the Gaura house to the courtyard, where women collectively sing Athawali hymns and perform rituals narrating Gaura’s origins and her marriage to Lord Maheshwar.
After the rituals, biruda, considered the main offering, is placed on the heads of husbands, children, and relatives as a blessing for longevity and prosperity. Meanwhile, men mark the day by playing traditional cultural games such as Thadokhel and Dhuskodhamari.
Cultural expert Acharya Bishnudatta Bhatt explained that the festival is observed by women with fasting and prayers for steadfast marital fortune, prosperity, children, and family well-being. Locals in Sudurpaschim celebrate Gaura with even greater importance than Dashain, with many migrants returning home for the occasion. Married daughters also traditionally visit their maternal homes during Gaura.
Meanwhile, a two-day public holiday has been announced in Sudurpaschim on the occasion of the festival. The federal government declared Sunday, August 31 (Bhadra 15) as a public holiday, while the provincial government announced Monday, September 1 (Bhadra 16), resulting in two consecutive days off.
