President Ram Chandra Paudel marked two of the most sacred days of Nepal's biggest Hindu festival by worshipping at nine major goddess shrines across the Kathmandu Valley on Maha Ashtami and performing the traditional Nawakanya Puja at the presidential palace on Maha Nawami. Accompanied by First Lady Sabita Paudel throughout the observances, the President received tika and prasad at the temples and later honoured nine young girls as living manifestations of Goddess Nawadurga, as the country observed the eighth and ninth days of the ten-day Bada Dashain festival. The details were reported by Khabarhub and Ratopati.
A Pilgrimage to Nine Goddess Shrines
On Maha Ashtami, the eighth day of the festival, President Paudel travelled to nine of the valley's most revered goddess temples to offer prayers. First Lady Sabita Paudel accompanied him on the visits, and at the shrines the President received tika and prasad, according to the reports.
The nine temples visited by the President were:
- Naxal Bhagawati
- Guhyeshwori
- Maitidevi
- Kalikasthan
- Bhadrakali
- Naradevi
- Raktakali
- Shobha Bhagawati
- Indrayani
The Significance of Maha Ashtami
Maha Ashtami is regarded as one of the most powerful days of Dashain, dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga in her fierce and protective forms. Devotees mark the day with special offerings and rituals at Shakti shrines, the temples dedicated to the Mother Goddess. The practice of visiting several goddess temples in a single day reflects a centuries-old tradition in the Kathmandu Valley, where a dense network of Shakti shrines has drawn worshippers for generations.
Guhyeshwori, one of the temples on the President's route, lies near the Pashupatinath temple complex and is counted among the most sacred sites dedicated to the goddess. Together, the nine shrines represent the valley's long-standing devotional connection to the divine feminine, a connection renewed each year as the festival reaches its most intense phase.
Nawakanya Puja at Sheetal Niwas
On Maha Nawami, the ninth day of the ten-day Bada Dashain festival, President Paudel performed the Nawakanya Puja at Sheetal Niwas, the official residence of the President in Kathmandu. The ritual centres on the worship of nine young girls, who are honoured as living embodiments of Goddess Nawadurga, the nine forms of Goddess Durga. First Lady Sabita Paudel also took part in the ceremony, the reports said.
Maha Nawami is observed as the final day of the goddess worship before the festival's tenth day, when the main rituals of Dashain give way to the celebration of Bijaya Dashami. By conducting the Nawakanya ceremony on this day, the President followed the sequence of observances that devout households and temples across the country maintain during the festival.
The Nawakanya Tradition
The Nawakanya ritual is one of the distinctive observances of Dashain. Under this tradition, young girls who have not yet attained puberty are venerated as kanyas, believed to embody the purity and power of the goddess. Those performing the puja traditionally honour the girls with rituals that include washing their feet, applying tika to their foreheads and offering them food and gifts as a mark of devotion.
The number nine carries particular weight in the festival's worship, corresponding to the nine manifestations of the goddess honoured during Dashain, from Shailaputri to Siddhidatri. By receiving the nine girls at the presidential palace as manifestations of Nawadurga, the President took part in a practice that countless families across Nepal observe on the same day, extending the symbolism of the nine shrines he had visited the previous day into his own residence.
Dashain in Nepal's Cultural Calendar
Bada Dashain is the longest and most widely celebrated festival in Nepal. Observed over ten days, it commemorates the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura, symbolising the triumph of good over evil. The festival opens with Ghatasthapana, when a sacred vessel is installed and barley shoots known as jamara are grown, and culminates in Bijaya Dashami, when elders bless younger family members with tika and jamara.
Maha Ashtami and Maha Nawami are counted among the most important days of the festival, when devotees offer prayers and perform rituals both at home and at temples. The President's observances, from the nine valley shrines to the Nawakanya ceremony at Sheetal Niwas, mirrored the devotional practices unfolding in households across the country during the same period.
As head of state, Paudel's participation in the festival's key rituals underscores the enduring place of Dashain in Nepal's religious and cultural life. From the nine shrines of the Kathmandu Valley to the Nawakanya ceremony at the presidential residence, this year's observances by the President and the First Lady traced the same rhythms of worship that families throughout Nepal have practised for generations, reinforcing the festival's role as a moment of shared devotion and national celebration.
