Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav received the tika of Bada Dashain from gurus and priests at his residence on Wednesday, as the country celebrated Vijaya Dashami, the main day of Nepal's largest Hindu festival. The tika was applied on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami, the most significant day of the festival, when Nepalis across the country and beyond receive tika and blessings from their elders, gurus and priests. The Vice President's office said the tika was offered in accordance with tradition and religious rituals, according to a report by Thaha Khabar.
Tika ceremony held as per tradition
The ceremony at the Vice President's residence was organised to mark Vijaya Dashami, the day on which the central ritual of the Dashain festival is performed. Gurus and priests applied the tika to the Vice President on the festival's principal day, and the details of the event were subsequently made public through an announcement from his office.
According to the Vice President's office, the tika was offered in accordance with tradition and religious rituals. The statement indicates that the ceremony followed the established religious procedure associated with the day, mirroring the observances taking place in households across the country at the same time.
The ritual of tika and jamara
The tika given on Vijaya Dashami is traditionally prepared from a mixture of rice grains, red vermilion powder and curd. It is applied to the forehead along with jamara, the yellow barley shoots that are germinated from seeds sown at the start of the festival. Together, the tika and jamara are regarded as symbols of prosperity, good fortune and protection, and they are accompanied by blessings for health, happiness and success.
Vijaya Dashami: the main day of the festival
Vijaya Dashami is the tenth day of Dashain and is considered the most important of the festival's fifteen days. It is on this day that the formal giving and receiving of tika begins, with elders, gurus and priests applying tika to the foreheads of younger family members and devotees and blessing them for the year ahead. The day carries deep religious meaning for Nepali Hindus, as it commemorates the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.
Because Dashain is the most widely celebrated festival in the country, Vijaya Dashami also serves as a moment of national celebration. With the country on festival holidays, people travel to their ancestral homes, families separated by work and migration reunite, and the exchange of tika and jamara becomes the centrepiece of gatherings large and small.
The key elements of the day include:
- Tika: a mixture of rice, vermilion and curd applied to the forehead by elders, gurus and priests
- Jamara: yellow barley shoots worn on the head or behind the ear along with the tika
- Blessings: words of good wishes for prosperity, courage and good health offered as the tika is applied
- Family reunions: relatives gathering at home, often travelling long distances, to mark the day together
Festival observed from family homes to high offices
The Vice President receiving tika from gurus and priests at his residence reflects a ritual performed in Nepali homes across the country on Vijaya Dashami. That the ceremony was announced publicly by his office underlines the place Dashain holds in national life, cutting across social and official boundaries. Receiving tika from priests and gurus, as the Vice President did on Wednesday, is a common practice among devotees who mark the day with formal religious ceremony rather than only as a family occasion.
For constitutional officials and other public figures, observing the rituals of the day at their residences is a familiar pattern during the festival, and the ceremony held on Wednesday fits squarely within that tradition. By confirming that the tika was offered in line with established custom, the Vice President's office presented the event as both a personal religious observance and an adherence to the protocol attached to the office.
A festival that binds the nation together
Dashain continues beyond Vijaya Dashami, with celebrations and family visits carrying on through the remaining days of the festival. The tika ceremony, however, remains its emotional and religious high point, the moment when blessings are formally passed from elders and priests to younger generations.
With Wednesday's ceremony, Vice President Yadav joined the millions of Nepalis who received tika on Vijaya Dashami this year. As reported by Thaha Khabar, his office framed the event as one conducted fully in accordance with tradition and religious rituals, consistent with the spirit of the festival's main day.
