She is determined to complete Dipankha Yatra, a rare religious procession, which takes places once in many years, with thousands of devotees from both Hindu and Buddhist sects marching together, mostly barefooted, to 131 religious shrines spread across the Kathmandu valley within 24 hours.[break]
“My family members were not reluctant to let me take part in the procession as it is very difficult to walk such a long distance at this age. But I did not listen to them,” says Maharjan. “For me it´s a great opportunity to participate in this religious walk for the welfare of my family.”
Permanent resident of Kritipur, Maharjan came to Nagbahal in Patan from where the procession begun Friday morning. The participants will walk for more than 65 kilometer by Saturday morning when the procession ends.
Dipankha Yatra is observed when the five astrological events coincide on the same day: first day in solar calendar, Full moon, lunar eclipse, besides Rewati Nachetra and Harshan Yoga.
“We may not get such a great opportunity again in near future so we have to participate,” said Maharjan. “And many volunteers are there to help us and provided us energy drink and chocolates.”
Bipin Joshi and his spouse are also taking part in Dipankha Yatra. Both of them looked excited, though they felt somewhat tired.
“The weather is good and favorable for walking so we are not that tired,” says Joshi. “This is the first time we are taking part in the procession and we are enjoying it a lot. We believe that we will get blessings from God.”
Like Maharjan and the Joshi couple, hundreds of thousands of people participated in the Dipankha Yatra on Friday as it is considered as the one of the important occasions to get blessings from the almighty.
The Dipankha Yatra was lastly observed in 2005.
Cultural experts believe that the Dipankha Yatra started in the 17th century though there is no written history about it.
“Dipankha” means “Dipankar” in Sanskrit language which is regarded as one of the forms of Lord Buddha.
“Dipankha Yatra is more than a festive occasion as it gives chance to strengthen ties between Hindus and Buddhists. This festival stands for religious endurance of our country. People from different religions visit each other´s shrines during the procession, and this is very important in order to maintain peace and solidarity in a country,” said Dr. Govind Tandon, a cultural expert.
On the first day of the Dipankha Yatra, the participants have visited many shrines of the Kathmandu valley passing through the route of Nagbahal to Chobar, Ringroad (Inderni) to Swayambhu, Bijeshwori to Boudha.
They will visit remaining places before the Dipankha Yatra ends at Mahalaxmisthan in Patan on Saturday morning.
For first aid and other services, the Red Cross Society has placed its volunteers at different areas along the procession route with medicine.
“We are very much thankful to all the organizations for the cooperation,” said Yagya Bajracharya, board member of Dipankha Yatra Management Committee. “This year´s Dipankha Yatra is better managed compared to the last one.”
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