The Newar community in the country including in the Kathmandu Valley celebrated the Sithi Nakha festival today by worshipping the water sources such as well, traditional water spouts, springs, ponds, and taps. Prior to the worshiping, such water sources were cleaned.
The festival is observed on the sixth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Jestha, also to mark the beginning of the monsoon season. People also prepare traditional pancakes such as Bara and Chatamari as a tribute to their ancestral god. According to Dr. Devmani Bhattarai, Professor at the Nepal Sanskrit University, the festival is observed as per the Markandeya Purana, a Hindu scripture.
On the occasion, water resources across the country including in the Kathmandu Valley were cleaned.
Likewise, Kumar Shasthi was celebrated today itself, worshipping Kumar Kartikeya who is mythically a warrior god of Hinduism.
---
A man cleans a statue on the occasion of the Sithi Nakha Festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal, May 25, 2023. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua)
People clean stone water spouts on the occasion of the Sithi Nakha Festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 25, 2023. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)
A man cleans a stone water spout on the occasion of Sithi Nakha Festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 25, 2023.(Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)
People clean the courtyard and stupa on the occasion of Sithi Nakha Festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, June 5, 2022. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)
People clean the courtyard and stupa on the occasion of the Sithi Nakha Festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, June 5, 2022. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)
People clean a well on the occasion of the Sithi Nakha Festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, June 5, 2022. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)
A Nepalese cooks a special pancake with green and black lentils during Sithi Nakha Festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, June 5, 2022. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) ■