Historic Guheshwari Shaktipeeth Prepares for Thousands of Pilgrims as Dashain Festival Nears

As Dashain festival nears, Guheshwari Shaktipeeth in Kathmandu is all set to welcome visitors for offering rituals and blessings.

Priest from Karmacharya family of the city offers sacred traditions and responsibilities on a daily basis.

It is ritually believed that after offering prayers at 2500-year-old Pashupatinath Temple, one among seven monuments of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, it is great to offer prayers at Shaktipeeth.

Shaktipeeth has also been a major tourist destination for Indian tourists who never miss to visit Pashupatinath Temple when they are in Kathmandu.

Guheshwari Shaktipeeth draws pilgrims during Navratri, considered source of positive energy; historical and cultural importance in Kathmandu Valley.

With the sacred festival of Dashain on the horizon, the revered Guheshwari Shaktipeeth in Kathmandu is gearing up to welcome thousands of pilgrims who flock to the temple during this auspicious time of year.

Guheshwari Shaktipeeth in Kathmandu

Krishna Lal Karmacharya, a 70-year-old man from the esteemed Karmacharya family, has been an active priest at the Guheshwari Temple for over half his life. Although he voluntarily retired from the role three years ago, he still willingly assists his nephews in conducting daily rituals and caring for the temple's idol. The Karmacharya family has a long-standing tradition of taking on these sacred responsibilities, including performing daily worship at noon and conducting Aarati at 6 PM on regular days.

"As the festive session of Dashain nears in Nepal, the holy site Guheshwari Shaktipeeth, considered as a symbol of power, thousands of pilgrims are waiting for offering their prayers as the continuation of centuries-old tradition," he said, showing a cheerful smile at the temple premises.

As Dashain, a ten-day-long festival widely celebrated across Nepal, draws near, the temple is abuzz with preparations. Considered a symbol of power, Guheshwari Shaktipeeth attracts believers from all over Kathmandu Valley who come to offer their prayers as part of a centuries-old tradition. "But the Asthami—the 8th day—is the main attraction for the pilgrims. Even the Head of State and members of the formal royal family come to visit the temple in the evening. Moreover, the Shaktipeeth itself arranges four buffalos, six goats, and eight ducks to sacrifice as an offering to the power of the goddess for the same day," he explained.

An integral aspect of Navratri celebrations is the growing of Jamara, which consists of newly-germinated barley, maize, rice, and wheat. People take these sprouts home as blessings during Dashain. Growing Jamara—the newly-germinated barley, maize, rice, and wheat—has been a main duty for the entire Navratri days which people take home on the occasion of Dashain. The arrangement has been followed since long ago. Karmacharya has already started searching for some seeds to grow the Jamara at the Shaktipeeth for Sunday. 'We will get the seeds nearby. Just needed to bring pure mud and sand to sow the grains,' he explained his plan.

A historic location for the Hindu and Buddhist communities in Kathmandu Valley remains jam-packed during Navratri. On a 10th day, a major day of the biggest festival—Dashain—devotees visit the temple to receive the blessings from Shakti Devi. Almost four times in a year, according to myths, the goddess is believed to reveal herself and Navratri is the one among them.

On a first day of Navratri, Hindus in Nepal also celebrate as the first day of ten-day-long Dashain. Locals of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan, the three ancient states known as Kantipur, Bhaktapur, and Patan respectively, take the Jamara from the Shaktipeeth on a 10th day and they apply Tika, a mixture of rice grains, curd and red vermilion powder formed into a paste, on the forehead along with clipping Jamara in the ears as the blessings from the god of power.

Dr. Govinda Tandan, a cultural expert specializing in cultural heritage of surroundings, explains that pilgrims visit the Shaktipeeth to gain positive energy from the goddesses worshipped during Navratri. "Navratri is the festival of nine goddesses who are equipped with lots of positive power and energy. And, those who believe in power, energy, and meditation are the regular visitors at the Shaktipeeth since long time. Interestingly, Hindus and Buddhists worship Guheshwari as the source of the positive vibe," he said.

According to him, Guheshwari is historically important in the Kathmandu Valley, along with Dakshinkali, Badsalakali, and Mahakali, as defined by multiple scripts written in 19th century.

Officials estimate that over a half million devotees from India come to the Pashupatinath annually, and most of them never miss the Shaktipeeth. "The Pashupatinath Temple is the source of Indian tourists for Shaktipeeth and which has increased dramatically in recent years," former priest Karmacharya said.

The Pashupatinath Temple is the source of Indian tourists for Shaktipeeth and which has increased dramatically in recent years.

Manoj Kumar Jha was one among those visitors from India on Friday. Mr. Jha, who hails from Sitamarhi district of Bihar State, was at Shaktipeeth with his family. He was in Shaktipeeth for the first time and heard of it at the Pashupatinath Temple premises, just around a kilometer away. "I came here for the peace of mind and with the hope of good health for my loved ones," he said.

A pagoda-styled teeth is located on the eastern side of the ancient Pashupatinath Temple, a 2500-year-old temple which is one among seven monuments of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, recognized by UNESCO. It is believed that Guheshwari was named after a part of the body of the goddess Devi fell on the site. It is believed that Guheshwari was named after a part of the body of the goddess Devi fell on the site. In the holy books, it is explained that her husband Lord Siva took her deceased body around and dropped the parts of her body in different locations and Guheshwari is the place where her defecation organ (Guhiepatan) was unhanded. However, contradiction is there over an actual body part. Since then, the offerings at Peeth were started though the structure was built about a few hundred years back only.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding its exact history, Guheshwari Shaktipeeth remains an ancient and revered Peeth of the Kathmandu Valley

 

However, it is still unclear that how old the tradition is but it has been found that the monument was built by the then King Pratap Malla in the 17th century which is mentioned in the inscription around Peeth premises. However, the researchers are quite sure about the tradition which is even hundreds of years older than the actual monument was structured by the 9th King of Kantipur State which is known as Kathmandu today. 

"The tradition and history of Guheshwari are unclear before the King Malla's time but it doesn't mean that there was no any existence of Peeth tradition earlier," reads a book, Nepalpeeth and Guheshwari, by Prof. Diwakar Acharya, Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford. "It is an ancient Peeth of the Kathmandu valley but the question remained over its original history due to lack of proper exploration of the antiquities."

Despite the uncertainty surrounding its exact history, Guheshwari Shaktipeeth remains an ancient and revered Peeth of the Kathmandu Valley, drawing devotees seeking blessings, positive energy, and spiritual fulfillment during Navratri and the upcoming Dashain festivities.

This is the full version of a story that appeared in Dainik Bhaskar on 1st October 2019. 

A print version of a story that appeared in Dainik Bhaskar.