Gaura Parva was celebrated at Tundikhel in Kathmandu on Sunday.
A festival of religious and cultural significance, Gaura Parva is especially celebrated in Sudur Paschim (Far West) province and some parts of Karnali province of Nepal, as well as in Uttarakhand state of India.
The festival commemorates the wedding of Goddess Gaura (Parvati) to Lord Shiva. It falls in the month of Bhadra (August or September) according to the Hindu lunar calendar.
Gaura Parva officially begins on Biruda Panchami, when married women soak five different types of seeds in a bronze or brass pot.
The soaked grains are taken to a pond, river or spring nearby and washed the next day.
On the third day, the soaked grains are taken to a nearby temple. Women fast throughout the day and worship Goddess Gaura in the evening.
The fourth and final day is known as Gaurashtami or Athebali. On this day, women gather at a place called Gaura Khalo and fast and pray to Gauri and Maheshwar. They later perform the wedding of Gaura and Shiva and offer the soaked grains (biruda) as prasad to people.
One of the major attractions of the festival is the Deuda dance. People perform the dance while singing about the tales of gods and goddesses as well as about social ills.
Gaura Parva is also considered a festival of reunion as people who have left their homes for work return to celebrate. The festival fosters religious faith and mutual harmony. It is believed that observing a fast and worshiping Lord Shiva and Goddess Gaura during this festival brings peace and prosperity, and also pleases ancestral and family deities.
