Nepal’s Badadasain festival began on Saturday with Ghatasthapana rituals observed across the country, marking the start of the ten-day Dashain celebrations. Households and temples prepared the sacred jamara by planting barley and maize seeds in soil-filled vessels, beginning a festival that honours Goddess Durga and continues until Vijaya Dashami.
Ghatasthapana marks the beginning
Ghatasthapana is the opening observance of Badadasain, also known as Dashain. Its rituals signal the start of the country’s largest Hindu celebration and the beginning of the festival period leading to Vijaya Dashami. The observances commenced as scheduled on Saturday.
A central part of the day is the planting of barley and maize seeds in a vessel filled with soil. The seeds are grown as jamara, which is prepared in homes and temples as part of the festival’s opening rituals. The practice gives Ghatasthapana its distinctive place in the start of Dashain, connecting the first day’s observance with the celebrations that follow.
The ritual is observed in both household and temple settings. Across Nepal, the preparation of jamara marks the arrival of the festival in homes and religious places, with the same basic practice of placing seeds in soil. The start of these observances on Saturday confirmed that the festival began according to schedule.
A ten-day celebration honouring Goddess Durga
Dashain is Nepal’s largest Hindu festival and honours Goddess Durga. Beginning with Ghatasthapana, its ten-day celebrations continue until Vijaya Dashami. The opening day therefore marks more than the preparation of jamara: it establishes the start of the broader festival period dedicated to the celebration of the goddess.
The progression from Ghatasthapana to Vijaya Dashami gives the festival its defined span. Saturday’s rituals opened that period, while the planting of barley and maize provided a shared observance for households and temples. With Ghatasthapana completed, the country’s Dashain celebrations are now under way.
The festival’s opening was marked by the customary preparation of jamara rather than a change to the planned schedule. As the ten-day celebration proceeds toward Vijaya Dashami, the seeds planted on Ghatasthapana remain the ritual focus introduced at the start of the observance.
