Dashain: Nepal’s biggest festival, explained
Every autumn, Nepal slows down for Dashain. Offices close, buses leave Kathmandu packed to the roofs, and families who live far apart finally end up in the same house. Visitors who arrive during these weeks often find the city quieter than usual and the villages louder, and a guide to Dashain and Tihar in Kathmandu is a good place to start if you want to know what changes in the capital during the festival season. What follows covers the festival itself: where it comes from, what happens on the main days, and how it feels to be in Nepal while it runs.
What Dashain celebrates
Dashain is a Hindu festival that lasts fifteen days. It begins on the first day of the bright lunar fortnight in the month of Ashwin, usually in late September or October, and ends on the full moon. Because it follows the lunar calendar, the dates shift every year.
The festival marks the victory of the goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Many Nepalis also connect it with Rama’s defeat of Ravana. Both stories have the same shape: good wins over evil after a long fight. The tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, is the one the festival is named for (“dash” meaning ten), and it is the day the whole thing builds toward.
The first days: Ghatasthapana and the jamara
Dashain opens with Ghatasthapana. A kalash, a small water pot, is placed in a room set aside for worship, and the goddess is invited into it. Barley seeds are sown in a bed of sand and cow dung around the pot. A family member, often the oldest man in the house or a priest, waters it each morning and evening.
The barley sprouts into yellow-green shoots called jamara. By the tenth day they stand a few inches tall, and they are cut and worn as a blessing. Houses that have a jamara bed keep the room closed to outsiders for the nine days, and the smell of damp sand and cut grass is one of the small details people remember from childhood.
Fulpati, Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami
On the seventh day comes Fulpati. A sacred offering of flowers, leaves and a banana stalk is carried in procession. The best-known procession travels from Gorkha, where the Shah dynasty has its roots, to Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu, with soldiers, musicians and officials walking behind it. Crowds line the streets to watch.
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The eighth day, Maha Ashtami, is for the fiercest form of the goddess, Kali. Temples hold special ceremonies through the night, and many families sacrifice animals, most often goats, ducks and buffalo, at temples and at home. The ninth day, Maha Navami, is the main day for these offerings. Vehicles are also blessed on this day, so you will see taxis, trucks and motorbikes with garlands and red marks on the bonnet. The Taleju temple in Kathmandu opens to the public once a year, on this day, and the queue outside can stretch for hours.
Vijaya Dashami and the tika
The tenth day is the largest family event. Elders prepare tika, a mix of rice, yogurt and red vermilion, and press it onto the foreheads of younger relatives along with a few stalks of jamara behind the ear. They give a blessing for the year ahead, and usually some money as well.
Tika carries on for several days after the tenth, and people travel to visit relatives in order of seniority. Grandparents come first, then uncles and aunts, then everyone else. A family with relatives scattered across several districts may spend the better part of a week on the road.
Food, swings and kites
Meat is the center of the Dashain table, since many Nepali families eat it only on special occasions. Goat meat curry is the usual dish, served with rice, lentils, pickles and sel roti, a ring-shaped bread of rice flour fried in oil. Sweets such as laddu and jalebi turn up in nearly every house.
Villages put up bamboo swings, called ping, that can rise ten or fifteen feet and are tied with rope made of twisted fibre. Children and adults take turns, and the swing stays up for the duration of the festival. Kites fill the sky over Kathmandu and the valley towns from the start of the festival, and the sound of kite strings snapping is part of the season. Card games are also common, and many families play for small stakes in the evenings.
What it means for visitors
Dashain is a public holiday of about ten days, and a large share of Kathmandu’s residents leave the valley to be with family. Banks, government offices and many shops close for several days. Hotels fill up and long-distance buses sell out early, so booking transport in advance matters if you want to leave the city around the festival. Taxis can be scarce and fares often rise.
On the other hand, the festival is a rare chance to see Nepali family life up close. Temples are busy and the streets around Durbar Square and Patan fill with processions and music. If you are invited into a home for tika, accept. Take off your shoes at the door, receive the tika with your right hand open, and bring a small gift such as fruit or sweets.
After Dashain
Dashain ends on the full moon, and Tihar, the festival of lights, follows about two to three weeks later. Homes are cleaned, oil lamps are lit, and dogs, crows, cows and brothers each get a day of their own. The mood changes from the family-centered, solemn feel of Dashain to something brighter and more playful, with children going door to door singing for treats.
For travelers, the weeks after both festivals are also a good time to head to the mountains. The monsoon has cleared, the air is dry, and the trails are in good shape.
