BHAKTAPUR, March 9: Shree Krishna Pranami International Dharma Jagani Festival, 2023 has kicked off in Bhaktapur from today. The six-day religious and spiritual festival is organized at the Shree Krishna Pranami Temple at Katunje, Surya Binayak Municipality-6.
More than 10 thousand devotees are expected to attend the event daily, said Bishnu Prasad Neupane, the President of the Main Organising Committee. He said the festival is organized as an international-level religious tourism event.
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A kalash yatra (a march in procession with devotees carrying the holy jar on their heads) ritual and the unveiling of the temple's pinnacle have been conducted on the first day of the festival today.
One hundred and eight 'brahma munis (batuks)' or young priests will be reciting the Shree Ek Saya Aath Tartamsagar, the holy scripture of the Shree Krishna Pranamis, throughout the festival. Various gurus and holy persons will give sermons daily.
Neupane shared that aarati and puja, yoga and meditation sessions, reading of the holy texts, religious talks, the Shreekrishnamrit katha reading, the evening prayers and cultural programme would be organized daily.
Similarly, special programmes honouring various eminent personalities, blood donation and free health checkup camp will be organized as part of the festival. A mass upanayana (initiation ritual) would be organized on March 14, the last day of the event. Upanayana is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional rites of passage that marks the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a guru or acharya, and an individual's initiation into a school in Hinduism.
Devotees from various districts of Nepal and from the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, India, among other countries are attending the festival.
