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 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (October 2023) |
| Dashain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Official name | बडादसैँ |
| Also called | Bijaya Dashami, Nauratha |
| Observed by | Nepalese and Indian Gorkha Hindus and Buddhists |
| Type | Religious, Cultural |
| Significance | A festival commemorate the victory of good over evil |
| Celebrations | Marks the end of Durga Puja |
| Observances | Worshipping nine forms of Durga, visiting Shakti Pithas and pandals, organizing plays, visiting relatives, feasts, community gathering, recitation of scriptures, immersion of the idol Durga or burning of Ravana. |
| Date | Ashvin or Kartika (September to November) |
| 2024 date | 3 October 2024, Thursday to 16 October 2024, Wednesday |
| Related to | Vijaya Dashami |
Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal and the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, South India, and Sri Lanka.[2] It is also celebrated by other religions of Nepal and elsewhere in the world,[3] including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan[4] and the Burmese Gurkhas of Myanmar. The festival is also referred as Nauratha, derived from the Sanskrit word for the same festival Navaratri which translates to Nine Nights.[5]
It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat annual calendars, celebrated by Nepali Hindus, along with their diaspora throughout the globe. In Nepal, it is also known as the biggest festival in the country and is the longest national/public holiday, lasting 15 days. It is the most anticipated festival in Nepal. People return from all parts of the world, as well as different parts of the country, to celebrate together.[3] All government offices, educational institutions, and other offices remain closed during the festival period. The festival falls in September or October, starting from the shukla paksha (bright lunar night) of the month of Ashvin and ending on Purnima, the full moon. Among the fifteen days on which it is celebrated, the most celebrated days are the first, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and fifteenth.[6] Dashain is the main festival of Hindus in Nepal.
- ^ Christopher John Fuller (2004). The Camphor Flame: Popular Nepali and hilly Society in India. Princeton University Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-691-12048-X. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Happy Dashain 2075". Lumbini Media. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Festivals of Nepal: Dashain". Nepal Home Page: Travel Guide. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ "King of Bhutan Celebrated Dashain with Bhutanese people in Loggchina". 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 468–469.
- ^ [1] Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine