Dipankha Yatra

ikar Yatra or Dipankha Yatra !language) is a religious on jointly observed by the imd Buddhist devotees. The is a symbol of religious har-mong the Hindus and the its. This Yatra is mostly cel-by Buddhist as well as Hindu of the Kathmandu valley and Avers are guided by Gurjus of community. This Yatra is a 'Limey that takes place in the Lndu Valley on the day of yog. Panchayog is a combina-ive auspicious astrological and mical occasions such as s Sankranti, Chandramas a. Rewati Nachyatra, Harshan I Adityabar. This time the yog coincided on Friday, 18th r. 2013 after eight years. Previ-ankha Yatra was organised on October, 2005 and that took ler 38 years. latra basically involves the s in a long walk barefooted to gious destinations within 2 days. =ranee of the Yatra is decided by mlogical calendar. Dipankha I observed when the five astro--kmts coincide on the same day. 6Irologica1 events are as follows: Nyamas Sankranti (First day in solar
rodramas Purnima (Full moon) eti Nachetra (An astrological event) Mon Yog (An astrological event) *Wm Graham (Lunar Eclipse) he‘ le_ ,ed that a single step in the Owls the Punya (virtuous deeds) Ivan offering more than 10 lif gold. The procession begins at Rd, Patan at dawn and ends at Emisthan the following day. :es: short list of the 131 places , during the Yatra. Flhu(Nagbahal) starting point pshwar Ea: mandir (Mangal bazar) _ yak (Bungamati) Lokeshwor (Chobaha)
Hasapota Ganesh (Jhamsikhel) Ashok Binayak (Maru) lchangu Narayan Pula Swayambhu (Old swayambhu) Vayupur Swayambhu Mahachaitya lndrayani Naxal Bhagwati Khasti Chaitya (Boudhanath) Gujeshwori Ashok Chaitya (Lagankhel) ending point Eight years ago on 17, October, 2005, about 100,000 people had actively participated in Dipankha Yatra. Recently, after five years, this Yatra was again jointly observed by the Hindu and Buddhist devotees on 18, October, 2013. A large number of people of all ages took part in the walkthon. Devo-tees were supposed to travel 66.5 km in 24 to 30 hours. During this 900-year-old religious ceremony the devotees were supposed to visit 131 temples and monasteries of Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts. The journey started from Nagbahal, Lalitpur, at 3 am Friday, 18 October and concluded on Saturday at Mahalaxmisthan, Lagankhel, Lalitptu. It is roughly estimated that over 65,000 devotees participated in the journey this year. The walkathon continued even in the night, with no rest at any points. As a ritual one has to offer a bowl of wheat (called kisli), peanuts and coins to participate in the journey at Nagbahal for registration a day before the journey begins. The Dipankha Yatra committee at Lalitptr had made an arrangement of all the basic services, including drinking water, first aid, toilet and security, at different places for the devotees. Walkers availed themselves of the medical facilities offered at different points on the route. Many were seen with shoes at their hands as the massive walking resulted in blisters and swelling on their feet. Devotees believe that a strenuous journey takes them to the abode of god. The committee had also launched a road map of the temples and monasteries to be visited.