Everything You Should Know About Janai Purnima Festival of Nepal [Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi]

This post is about to Janai Purnima Nepal Festival. This Janai Purnima festival is an early August festival in Nepal.

It mainly concerns the Brahmins and Chhetri ethnic groups of Nepal. But most Hindus will nevertheless participate in the Janai Purnima festival.

Meaning and Significance of Rakhi and Janai Purnima

Raksha Bandhan is a festival that falls on the full moon day of Shrawan month according to the Eastern Calander. It is celebrated among Hindus residing all around the world.

According to the different geographical locations, it is called by different names as well. In the hilly regions of Nepal, it is celebrated as Janai Purnima. Similarly, in the Terai region and the northern parts of India, it is celebrated as Rakhi.

The meaning behind each of these days is also different to some degree as is evident from the name itself. Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is mainly celebrated by the Brahmins who belong to the higher castes that are Brahmin and Kshatriyas in India and Nepal.

But, coming to this day, it is celebrated by everyone who knows the meaning behind it. Discussed below are how Janai Purnima and Rakhi are celebrated throughout the Hindu community all around the world and how each has its unique characteristics.

Janai Purnima

For those who celebrate it as Janai Purnima in the hilly regions of Nepal, it is taken as a day when the men from the Brahmin community undertake the annual changing of their holy thread that marks their coming of age ceremony.

Early morning, they take a bath, visit a nearby temple, and from the hands of a Pundit, they change the holy thread or Janai.

Besides, it is also the day when pundits tie ‘Raksha Bandhan Doro’ in the hands of the Brahmin and Chhetri community. The Doro or the thread is symbolic of the good wishes of the loved ones for safety and happiness.

The thread that is tied on this day is supposed to be worn throughout the day and until a few months later which is then tied to the tail of the cow in Tihar or Diwali. This is supposed to bring good fortune and safeguard the person further in his/her life.

Janai Purnima is also the day when good food is prepared and eaten by the members of the family together. There is a special dish prepared on this day which is known as ‘Kwati’. It is the mixture of nine different kinds of lentils that are collected and soaked a night before the Janai Purnima day.

These soaked lentils are then prepared on the day of Janai Purnima to make them taste delicious. This delicious treat is not only good for the tongue but also for your health as well.

It has been said that eating Kwati on this day prepares the body for the cold against the rainfall that has been happening in the monsoon before it. Also, the farmers who have been planting rice all monsoon will be tired and in bad health by the end of it.

Read Also: 99 Facts About Janai Purnima Nepal Festival

So, this Kwati is supposed to give them extra energy and bring them back to good physical health. Also, psychologically, it is the day when they forget about the work and all the woes and spend some time with their loved ones to be happy.

Rakhi

The Nepalese in the Terai region and the North Indian Hindus observe the same day as ‘Rakhi’. It is also known as Raksha Bandhan. This day is particularly popular among Indians as the day when brother and sisters celebrate their relationship with each other.

On this day, the sister prepares a good meal for the brother and makes a ‘Rakhi’. Rakhi is kind of like a bracelet that is made up of attractive materials to make it look beautiful. These days, we can buy different kinds of Rakhi in the market as well.

Sisters pick out their favorite kind from the market or make one by themselves. Such Rakhi is then presented to the brothers among all other traditional rituals that are performed on this day.

Read Also: How to Make Rakhi at Home? – 14 Wonderful Rakhi Making Ideas Ever You Have Seen

The Rakhi is supposed to signify the sister’s wishes for the brother’s well-being and safety in his life. It is tied around the wrist of the brother and in return, the brother gives gifts to the sister.

Wishes are exchanged and delicious meals that the sister has prepared are eaten. This marks the day of the special bond that is shared between the brothers and sisters.

The religious, traditional, and ethnic importance of Rakhi is beautiful and one that should be followed by generations to come. It is the only tradition where the sister prays for the well-being of the brother. It need not be blood relations, however.

The brother and sisters who observe this day to mark their pure relation need not be related by blood. Some take others as their sister or brother. Even among those, they can celebrate this day to mark the bond that they share between them.

It is supposed to give their relationship even more authenticity and holiness. It is therefore a celebration of the purity in relations and how brothers and sisters bond throughout their lives. It signifies the intention of praying for loved ones and wishing for their good health, prosperous future, and happiness.

Even though it is known by two different names among the Hindu community, the sentiment behind it is that of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ which means the bond of safety.

Raksha translates to Safety and Bandha means bond. Therefore, no matter what we wear on this day, either a Rakhi or a Doro or a Janai, it is all the same. The idea behind it is to safeguard the person who wears it.

The religious significance is only the extension of the psychological wishes of the people who wish good for others and do wish to safeguard their loved ones in all that they do.

Therefore, this Raksha Bandhan, let us keep in mind the significance of this festival and observe it accordingly. It is a pious and holy occasion so, let us all celebrate it with the same purity and be happy with this Raksha Bandhan. Happy Raksha Bandhan!

For your kind information, Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan are the same festivals. But the rituals and traditions of Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan are different.

Here we are concentrating only on the Janai Purnima Nepal Festival. If you want to know more about Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi day, plz visit the Raksha Bandhan and Rakhi’s Day.

Raksha Bandhan as Kwati Purnima or Gunhi Punhi

In Nepal special menu for Gunhi Punhi (Janai Purnima in Newari) is Kwati. This day is also called Kwati Punhi, where Kwati is a soup of different beans and Punhi means the full moon day.

Newar people also put the sacred threads around the wrists which are to be taken off on the day of Laxmi Puja, another festival in Tihar.

In Janai Purnima, Newar farmers offer different food items to frogs. Believing that worshiping the frog, who is considered an agent of the God of rainfall, by making offerings of different food items helps to increase the production of crops.

Janai Purnima Festival of Nepal

Janai Purnima, the festival of Nepal is observed in the month of Shrawan. As we all the Srawan or Sawan is the 4th month of the Nepali calendar. Janai Purnima is called Raksha Bandhan.

Because of this festival, Janai Purnima observes the bond of purity and security. This festival is celebrated by Hindu people from all over the world.

Janai Purnima is one of the most sacred thread festivals of Hindus. On this festival day, Hindus Nepalese men, especially the Brahmins and Chettris perform their annual change of Janai.

All other Nepali population who celebrates this festival put a sacred thread around/her wrist. The Brahmins and Chhetris bathe in the sacred rivers of the Vishunumati and the Bagmati. After bathing in the river they change the sacred thread worn across their chest.

Nepali people, who are out of the valley, bathe in their nearest river. Other Non-Brahmin and Chhetris people have yellow sacred threads tied around their wrists. It is believed that sacred Janai protects them from the dangers of the coming year.

On this day, thousands of fo people visit the Kumbhewswar temple in Patan, Nepal.  They bathe in the sacred waters which supposedly come from the holy lakes in Gosainkunda set at over 4000 meters into the foothills above the valley.

Read Also: Why to celebrate Janai Purnima Nepal Festival

The courtyards around Kumbhewar are a very colorful sight during this festival. It is for people symbolically cleansing bath center. The throngs of people pay homage to the beautiful gold and silver linga of this temple.

They are usually kept in temples.  But on this day placed is on a platform in the middle of the tank reached only along a narrow plank.

What is Janai?

You may ask what is Janai? From what is Janai made from? For your kind information, Janai is a cotton string worn across the chest by Hindu men. Janai is worn especially by Brahmins and Chhetris.

This thread Janai is only given to males during a long and impressive religious ceremony called Bratabandhan. Bratabandhan is such a type of ceremony, basically a formal process of accepting an individual in his/her religion.

The meaning of Janai Purnima?

Janai is the sacred thread and Purnima means full moon day. So, Janai Purnima means the Janai festival on the full moon day. It falls on the Shrawan month according to the Nepali calendar.

Janai Purnima Date 2022 or Janai Purnima date 2079

Janai Purnima falls on Shrawan Purnima. Shrawan Purnima falls on Shrawan month. This year Janai Purnima falls on 27 Shrawan 2079. According to the English calendar, it falls on Friday, 11nd August 2022. So, Janai Purnima’s date 2022 is Friday, 22 August 2022. Janai Purnima’s date 2079 is 27^th Shrawan 2079.

Stories Behind Janai Purnima Nepal festival

There are many historical occurrences and mentions in Hindu Mythology related to Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan. There are many stories about Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.

Some of the stories belonging to Janai Purnima are Santoshi Maa, Krishna and Draupadi, King Bali and Goddess Laxmi, and Yama and Yamuna.

Detail of the stories relates to Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan in upcoming articles.

Facts about Raksha Bandhan and Rakhi

Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is fundamentally celebrated by the Brahmins who have a place with the higher throws that are Brahmin and Kshatriya in India and Nepal.

Be that as it may, resulting in these present circumstances day, it is commended by everybody who knows the significance behind it. Talked about underneath are the courses in which Janai Purnima and Rakhi are commended all through the Hindu people group all around the globe and how each has their one-of-a-kind attributes.

Raksha Bandhan is a celebration that falls on the full moon day of Shrawan month as per the Eastern Calendar. It is commended among Hindus dwelling all around the globe. As indicated by the distinctive land areas, it is called by various names too.

In the uneven areas of Nepal, it is praised as Janai Purnima. Correspondingly, in the Terai locale and the northern parts of India, it is commended as Rakhi. The significance behind each is extraordinary to some degree as is obvious from the name itself.

The individuals who praise it as Janai Purnima in the sloping locales of Nepal, it is taken as a day when the men from the Brahmin people group embrace the yearly changing of their sacred string that denotes their transitioning function.

Early morning, they wash up, visit the adjacent sanctuary and from the hands of a Pundit, they change the heavenly string or Janai. Additionally, it is likewise the day when intellectuals tie ‘Raksha Bandhan Doro’ in the hands of the Brahmin and Chhetri people group.

The Doro or the string is typical of the good wishes of friends and family for security and bliss. The string that is tied on this day should be worn all for the day and until the point that a couple of months after the fact which is then fixed to the tail of the dairy animals in Tihar or Diwali.

This should bring favorable circumstances and protect the individual further in his/her life. Janai Purnima is likewise the day when great nourishment is arranged and eaten by the individuals from the family together.

There is an uncommon dish arranged on this day which is known as ‘Kwati’. It is the blend of nine various types of lentils that are gathered and doused a night before the Janai Purnima day.

These doused lentils are then arranged upon the arrival of Janai Purnima to make them taste tasty. This heavenly treat is useful for the tongue as well as for the well-being too.

It has been said that eating Kwati on this day readies the body for the chilly against the precipitation that has been going on in the rainstorm before it. Likewise, the agriculturists who have been planting rice all storm will be worn out and in awful well-being before the finish of it.

Thus, this Kwati should give them additional vitality and take them back to great physical well-being. Additionally, mentally Likewise, it is the day when they disregard the work and every one of their misfortunes and invest some energy with their friends and family to be cheerful.

The Nepalese in the Terai locale and the North Indian Hindus watch an indistinguishable day from ‘Rakhi’. It is otherwise called Raksha Bandhan. This day is especially prominent among Indians as the day when sibling and sisters praise their connection with each other.

On this day, the sister readies a decent dinner for the sibling and makes a ‘Rakhi’. Nowadays, we can purchase various types of Rakhi in the market also. Sisters choose their most loved kind from the market or make one without anyone else’s input.

Such Rakhi is then exhibited to the siblings among all other customary ceremonies that are performed on this day. The Rakhi should imply the sister’s desires for the sibling’s prosperity and well-being in his life.

It is tied around the wrist of the sibling and consequently, the sibling offers endowments to the sister. Wishes are traded and delightful dinners that the sister has arranged are eaten. This denotes the day of the uncommon bond that is shared between the siblings and sisters.

The religious, customary, and ethnic significance of Rakhi is excellent and one that ought to be trailed by eras to come. It is the main convention where the sister petitions God for the prosperity of the sibling. It requires not to be blood relations in any case.

The sibling and sisters who watch this day to stamp their unadulterated connection require not to be connected by blood. Some individuals take others as their sisters or sibling. Indeed, even among those, they can command this day to stamp the bond that they share between them.

It should give their connection considerably greater genuineness and heavenliness. It is along these lines a festival of immaculateness in relations and the path in which siblings and sisters bond for the duration of their lives.

It implies the aim of appealing to God for friends and family and wishes for their great well-being, prosperous future, and bliss.

Read Also: How to celebrate Janai Purnima Nepal Festival

Although it is known by two unique names among the Hindu people group, the opinion behind it is that of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ which implies the obligation of security.

Raksha truly means Safety and Bandha truly imply bond. In this manner, regardless of what we wear on this day, either a Rakhi or a Doro or a Janai, it is all the same.

The thought behind it is to protect the individual who wears it. Religious importance is just the expansion of the mental wishes of the general population who wish useful to others and do wish to shield their friends and family in all that they do.

Along these lines, this Raksha Bandhan, let us remember the hugeness of this celebration and watch it in like manner. It is a devout and sacred event along these lines, let all of us command it with a similar immaculateness and be cheerful this Raksha Bandhan. Cheerful Raksha Bandhan!

How Rakhi is celebrated in Nepal

Nepal is a beautiful diversified country in religion, traditions, and customs. People of different castes with their unique cultures and traditions live in Nepal. As Nepal is small, the people have a big heart. People in Nepal celebrated many festivals with lots of joy and happiness.

With increasing cooperation between people, people of different religions are celebrating each other festivals. Eid, a festival of Muslims is also celebrated by HindHindusd Tihar, a festival of Hindus is also celebrated by Muslims. So, Rakhi is also an enjoyable festival celebrated by people of a different religions.

Rakhi is the festival that falls in Shrawan( July/August). Rakhi is also called Rakshya  Bandhan in Nepal. This year, Rakhi is on Monday, the 11^th of August. Rakshya means “ to protect” and Bandhan means to tie or bond.

This festival observes the bond of purity and security between Brother and sister. This festival celebrates the strong bond and good relationship between brother and sister.

It celebrates the relationship between brother and sister, maybe they are not biologically related. If the brother doesn’t have a sister then, he makes a sister by tieing rakhi and promises himself to protect his sister at any cost.

In Raksha Bandhan, the Sister ties the rakhi in the hand of her brother and prays for his good wishes and the brother takes a vow to protect and take care of his sister under any circumstances.

Rakhi;

It is of different shapes, sizes, and forms and can be made or can be found in the market. Maybe a simple thread or colorful with more decorations. It may be in the form of a watch or religious art that can be made on Rakhi.

For a small brother, the sister mostly chooses to watch Rakhi. And for adults, prefer the religious signs rakhi or rakhi in the form of a bracelet. But commonly, rakhi with the colorful woven thread is used.

Rakhi Rituals

In Nepal, Rakhi is celebrated with lots of joy and happiness and also Janai Purnima is celebrated on the same day. Boys change their Janai on this day by bathing earlier.

They first make the Janai pure by giving it to priests in the temple. Priest worship the Janai enchanting the mantras and then males wear that Janai.

Also, the sacred thread is tied in the hand of everyone by the priest. It is believed that if we tie the sacred thread of our wrist in the tail of a cow in Tihar then, it will be good luck to us. It is mostly celebrated in the Terai region of Nepal. But, nowadays it is celebrated all over Nepal.

This festival celebrates the relationship between sister and brother, so it is adopted by Nepalese people all over the country. Various preparation for celebrating rakhi is done by sister days ago. Sister shops for Rakhi to tie on the wrist in the hand of her brother.

Also, many sister or woman makes the rakhi by themselves. They believe that Rakhi made by her with more love will provide strength to her brother. Brother also shops for gifts for his sister. Brother mostly gifts what his sister prefers. It may be a beautiful dress or various accessories.

In the early morning, the sister goes to the temple for worshipping God for the long life, prosperity, and long wishes of her brother. She also worships the Rakhi. Both brother and sister get together, wearing new dresses in the presence of parents, and elders.

First, the sister lightened the candle (diyo), which signifies the fire deity, worships the brother, put tika, and ties the rakhi on the wrist of the brother. After tying the Rakhi, the infinite love sister feeds her brother with a bite of sweets or dry fruits, and also the brother feeds the sister with bites of sweets. Sister also offers various delicious foods and dry fruits to the brother. Brother also gives the gift to the sister.

Brothers give money, gifts such as cars, clothes or something special sister want. They hug each other with infinite love between them. For the sister and brother who are far from each other, they call each other wishing the Raksha Bandhan.

The carrier service makes their celebration a bit good. Sister sends rakhi and brother to send gifts through the transferring services. Nowadays, many online services are thereby which sister can shop rakhi and brother can shop gifts and surprisingly, they can send each other.

Read Also: History of Janai Purnima Nepal Festival

The tied rakhi is worn by the brother for the entire day, as a reminder of their sister and to mark the festival of Raksha Bandhan. Brother and sister visit their relatives. Rakshya Bandhan is the day for brother and sister and the day is only for them. They visited beautiful places and they can share their things.

Social Significance

Raksha Bandhan, also known as the “Brother-Sister Festival”, is celebrated annually in India. It is a special day to celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters. On this day, sisters tie a special bracelet around their brother’s wrist and pray for their well-being.

Rakshya Bandhan is the festival of love, sentiments that have social significance. It is the festival celebrating a pure and strong relationship between brother and sister. Brother takes pledges always to protect and keep happy his sister.

It makes the relationship more strong and more pure. Helps to spread love and mutuality among the people of the world as well. And is celebrated by many of the cast and relations.

So, it enhances cooperation and the healthy relationship between the people of society, nation, and the world. The beautiful thing about Rakhi is that it can be tied to anyone whom you want to make brother or sister.

In Nepal, it is celebrated among the military by tieing rakhi among themselves. Army or police don’t get to go home. So, there are both males and females in the military.

So, they tie the rakhi to each other and celebrate the day with lots of joy. As well, students or college students tie the rakhi to each other celebrating the relationship between them.

Foods offered during Raksha Bandhan

In Raksha Bandhan, varieties of foods are offered to brothers and sisters as well to the guest. The list of foods is;

• Kheer;
• Sweets such as Laddu, rashvari, peda, Barfi
• Jerry, khuwa
• Haluwa of carrot, gourd, suji
• Meat curry, fish curry
• Mushroom curry, paneer dishes for vegetarians

Writer: Asmita Sharma, Poonam Neupane

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