panchadaan (A Big Buddhist Festival)

Panchadaan is a big Buddhist festival which almost all ? 1-) the Nepalese Buddhists celebrate every year with great enthusiasm. It must be remembered here that the entire Buddhist community in Nepal except those few who belong to the Hinayana sect (yellow-robed) are householders. So when any Buddhist festival takes place in Nepal, it is always the household Buddhists who take the most active part.

 It is interesting to note that this festival is celebrated in Kathmandu and Bhadgaon city on the third day of the dark fortnight of Bhadra which generally falls in the middle of August, whereas the Buddhists in Patan, which is said to be the oldest Buddhist city of Nepal, celebrate it only on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Shrawan. However, the majority of the Buddhists in Nepal seem to follow the Patan-tradition.

 One of the main features of this festival is the giving away of alms to the Buddhist beggars. As a very old custom would have it, on this particular day all the Buddhists, rich or poor, go door-to-door in a sizeable group to beg for alms. Such a group of Buddhist beggars is generally regarded as the mission of Lord Buddha himself and treated very well when they are received in the Nepalese homes for the alms-giving ceremony. Giving away of the alms to such Buddhists on this day seems to have been widely recognized by the Nepalese people. There are several Hindus who also give away some foodgrains in charity to the Buddhist beggars on this day. There are many religious trusts devoted to this giving-away ceremony. The Buddhist monasteries are the places where even the non-Buddhist people can be seen giving away the foodgrains to the Buddhist beggars. The Dangatha chapter of Kapidawdan, a very old Buddhist text says that those who give away food and clothes to the saints and sadhus on this day would be blessed with seven great gifts in return viz., health, happiness, longevity, wisdom, wealth, fame and children.

 The famous Buddhist text, Kapidawdan, has a lot of interesting stories to tell about the significance of the Panchadaan ceremony. It says how even a monkey who with great feelings and faith gave away a jack fruit in charity to Lord Deepankar (legendary Buddha) was reborn as a human being then and there by dint of his meritorious, deed.

 And, another story is about the poverty-stricken woman who despite her untold pain and poverty kept working for several years like a slave from which she saved a plenty of money but spent all this on a very ambitious giving-away-ceremony in honour of Lord Deepankars. The day this auspicious ceremony took place is recorded in the text mentioned above as the Panchadaan Day. This lady locally known as Guita Budhi, even today is well remembered by the people particularly of those in Patan. There is a very old Buddhist monastery at Tyagal Tole in Patan popularly known as Guita Bahee, which interestingly enough seems to have been named after the same lady. There must be some very strong reason for her being so closely associated with the monastery. Deeper study is called for to find out the real fact. Guita Bahee, in Newari means "the nine storeyed monastic building, which according to a Buddhist scripture was built by a king famous in Jatak stories named as Sarvanda. The Jatak says that Lord Deepankar visited Patan several times and stayed at the Guita Bahee monastery, then known as "Prasanna Sheela Mahavihara." It is said that every time he went there became very happy and so his favourite monastery itself was named as Prasanna Sheela Mahavihara, meaning the monastery for the one who is happy by nature. 

 

This monastery displays some fascinating clothes and jewelry of Guita Budhi lady every year on the full moon day of Shrawan. Even today, Guita Bahee monastery of Patan is considered to be the most important Danshalaa — perfect place for giving away all the best one can afford to the Buddhist saints on the Panchadaan Day.

 The number nine in Buddhist culture is a very significant number. It must be remembered here that nine Buddhist Chaityas shrine can still be seen well standing in the courtyard of the aforementioned monastery. It is interesting to note that there is a very old Buddhist tradition in Nepal according to which on the full moon day of the month Shrawan, the Nepalese people are advised to visit the nine different monasteries, changing the nine different dresses on the same day and, of course, to have also the nine different dishes to celebrate the occasions. It must be remembered here that this month of Shrawan according to Nepal Samvat (Era) is the ninth in the series of other months to follow round the year. The Newar people call this month Gunla, which is the most significant month for the entire Buddhist community of Nepal. According_ to the Buddhist tradition this month is the best for all kinds of religious rites and charity. One of the main reasons for this seems to be the seasonal fear. The month of Shrawan is generally considered to be very dangerous because of flood, epidemic disease, and many other havocs which are likely to break out in this very month. To get rid of these possible dangers, the Buddhists seem to have started the practice of symbolically seeking the shelter of Lord Buddha and thus, feel safe and sound.