President Ram Chandra Paudel observed two of the most sacred days of Nepal's Bada Dashain festival with traditional religious devotion, worshipping at nine major goddess shrines across the Kathmandu Valley on Maha Ashtami and performing the Nawakanya Puja at his official residence, Sheetal Niwas, on Maha Nawami. The Head of State was accompanied by First Lady Sabita Paudel throughout the observances and received tika and prasad during the shrine visits, in keeping with the customs of the country's largest and most widely celebrated festival.
A Maha Ashtami pilgrimage through the Valley
Maha Ashtami, the eighth day of the ten-day Bada Dashain festival, is among the most important dates in the Dashain calendar, and President Paudel marked the occasion by touring a series of the Valley's most venerated goddess temples. According to Khabarhub, the President offered worship at nine major shrines:
- Naxal Bhagawati
- Guhyeshwori
- Maitidevi
- Kalikasthan
- Bhadrakali
- Naradevi
- Raktakali
- Shobha Bhagawati
- Indrayani
The route linked temples spread across different parts of the capital and the wider Valley, including the Guhyeshwori shrine near the Pashupatinath temple area and the Naxal Bhagawati in central Kathmandu. First Lady Sabita Paudel accompanied the President on the pilgrimage, and the couple received tika and prasad from the priests at the temples.
Worship of the goddess during Dashain rests on the belief that prayers offered on Maha Ashtami carry particular spiritual weight, and the day traditionally draws a steady stream of devotees to Shakti shrines across the country. The President's decision to visit nine of the Valley's principal goddess temples on a single day reflected the special religious significance the festival continues to hold at every level of Nepali society, from household rituals to the observances of the head of state.
Maha Ashtami in the Dashain calendar
Bada Dashain is celebrated over ten days in honour of Goddess Durga, with devotees marking the festival through worship, offerings and family gatherings. The days of goddess worship are anchored in the story of Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura, a triumph of good over evil that gives the festival its central meaning. Maha Ashtami, the eighth day, is devoted to the fierce and protective forms of the goddess, while the following day, Maha Nawami, completes the sequence of worship before the festival moves into its culminating days of tika, jamara and blessings from elders.
Nawakanya Puja at Sheetal Niwas
On Maha Nawami, the ninth day of the festival, President Paudel performed the Nawakanya Puja at Sheetal Niwas, worshipping nine young girls as living manifestations of Goddess Nawadurga. Ratopati reported that First Lady Sabita Paudel also took part in the ceremony, in which the nine maidens are honoured with the reverence reserved for the goddess herself.
The Nawakanya ritual is one of the most cherished traditions of Dashain. Nine young girls are worshipped, each understood to embody one of the nine forms of Durga, known together as Nawadurga. These nine forms, Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri, are venerated across the nine nights of the goddess's worship, and the girls who represent them during the festival are traditionally washed, honoured, fed a ceremonial meal and offered gifts by the families or institutions hosting the rite.
By performing the puja at the presidential palace, the Head of State joined thousands of households across Nepal who observe the same tradition during the festival, reflecting the belief that honouring young girls as embodiments of the goddess brings blessing and spiritual merit to the worshipper.
A living tradition of goddess worship
The veneration of young girls during Dashain is closely connected to Nepal's broader Kumari tradition, in which a living girl is revered as the embodiment of the goddess and worshipped in her presence. The Nawakanya Puja brings this ancient practice into ordinary homes as well as official residences, and its performance at Sheetal Niwas underscored how faithfully the ritual continues to be observed at the highest office in the country.
Dashain rituals at the highest level of the state
Taken together, the President's two days of devotion highlighted the place Dashain occupies in Nepal's national life. The Maha Ashtami pilgrimage carried the Head of State to shrines that have anchored the religious geography of the Kathmandu Valley for centuries, while the Nawakanya Puja at Sheetal Niwas affirmed a rite performed in countless homes during the festival.
With the goddess worship days now complete, the festival moves toward its most anticipated moment, when family members gather and elders apply tika and jamara on the younger generation along with blessings for health and prosperity. Shrines across the Kathmandu Valley, including the nine temples visited by the President, will continue to receive devotees through the festival period, as households conclude their own rituals of worship, reunion and celebration that make Bada Dashain the defining event of the Nepali calendar.
