Rishi Panchami being observed today (Pictures)

Nabin Babu Gurung

Kathmandu, Sep 1

Hindu women across the country are observing Rishi Panchami on Thursday.

Rishi Panchami falls on the fifth day of the waxing moon in the month of Bhadra according to the Hindu calendar. On this day, Hindu women worship the Saptarishi or seven great sages – Kashyap, Atri, Bharadwaj, Bishwamitra, Gautam, Jamadagni, Vashishtha – and Arundhati.

The women wake up early in the morning and take a bath in a nearby river, lake or pond. They clean their bodies with 365 stems of a medicinal plant called apamarga, cow dung, soil and ash. They then worship and offer special prayers to the Saptarishi.

It is believed that women will be forgiven for all their sins if they fast and worship the Saptarishi on Rishi Panchami.

Women devotees visit the Risheshwar Mahadev temple in Teku and Mulpani of Kathmandu as well as in other parts of the country on this day.

Here are some pictures of women observing the festival in Kathmandu.