Swasthani Katha -Madhavnarayan Brata -Mahakumbha Mela

Swasthani is the hindu goddess who is very blessing to all her devotees. The tale of the Hindu Goddess Swasthani and Madhav Narayan (Shiva) is recited each evening throughout the month by householders to the gathered family members with established rituals. (It is a long tradition; however it is not compulsory to recite the story or to observe the fasting).

Dtory (Katha) commences on full moon day of month of magh and goes on a series of 31 chapters for 31 days till the next full moon. A religious Hindu text (Swasthani Brata Katha) is written in Nepali. It is said, people of Sankhu still have hand written Swasthani books in Newari language. It has been suggested that Swasthani was first written in Nepal Bhasa as early as 693 Nepal Sambat or around 1573 AD by Jayanta Dev However, the story narration is little different in other languages than in Nepali language. Some women fast for the whole month and take only one meal a day and read the story of Swosthani barta in mid-afternoon.?

People who do not fast also narrate the story either early in the morning or in the evening before or after the meal. Before reciting the story they worship the Swosthani Barta Story Book with Abir, akcketta, Kesari, and Jau Til, flowers, Dhup Batti, naivedya, ghanti and Diyo. But, there are tough rules for some men There are tough rules for some men In Sankhu, male residents from seven different families participate in the month-long festival as ‘saptarishis’ or seven sages, as per the tradition. If a family has more than one man, they share the responsibilities in turn. For the whole month, all seven follow a strict diet and rituals to stay pure. They avoid salt, three-time meals, human touch, or any kind of luxury including the warmth of the bed, a roof over their heads, and shoes.

They have to get up at 4 every morning, take a bath, perform pujas, and follow a strict diet of rice, milk, molasses, ghee, Nepali red radish (daikon), oranges and apples, which are usually offerings from the pilgrims. The fasting women offer Dhup Batti, Laddu, bettle, nuts, sel roti, panchamrit, apungo, and flowers in 108 counts each. It is believed that if you take the fasting of Goddess Swasthani, she fulfills all your good wishes.

When Agasthi Muni wanted to know how this universe was formed, Kumar starts the story telling him about the formation of the universe. Each Chapter commences with Kumarji aagya garnu huncha hey agisti muni meaning “Lord Kumar states hey Saint Agasthi”.Sali nadi, the river in Sankhu is mentioned in the Swasthani Barta Katha.

Therefore, the river is a prime holy location for devotees to visit during the month of Swasthani. The stories in this Swosthani Katha are mainly about devotees, who perform sins due to their ignorance and their rescue by Goddess Swasthani. The main focus of few first Chapters in Swasthani Brata Katha is Goddess Parvati. Few Chapters are about Lord Shiva’s first wife Sati Devi’s sufferings and Shree Swasthani rescuing her from troubles and sufferings. On the 13th day, the male devotees go to the Bajrayogini temple from Shalinadi to offer their prayers. This ritual is called Dun Danegu, when they lay flat on the ground with their hands stretched out front.

They return to the riverside in the same way without taking a single step, on foot. Another reference made in ‘Manishail Mahabadan’ gives insight into this tradition. To complete his fasting ritual, Lord Vishnu needed a few items. For that, he first reached Pashupatinath to collect ekmukhi rudraksha, then to Pharping to collect golden lotus flowers, after that to Panauti to collect 108 types of flowers, and to Changunarayanto to collect rice grains from the Satyayug.

He made the trips on foot. Pilgrims today make the same trip during the one-month long fast. The final day Katha people perform special symbolic worship. It is a tradition of painting the Mahamantra Om in copper plate and a mud Shiva Linga is made in the plate on the Om symbol. The pooja of Shiva Linga on the final day, concludes Sri Swasthani Brata Katha.