05/02/2022
आज श्री पञ्चमी/बसन्त पञ्चमी/बसन्त श्रवण/सरस्वती पुजा
The many facets of श्री पञ्चमी Śri Pãcami.
A couple of hundred meters west of the great Swoyambhu stupa lies the lesser known shrine of महामञ्जुश्री Mahamanjuśri. He is a Bodhisatva who is credited with draining the lake that filled up Kathmandu valley to make it suitable for human habitation in prehistoric times.
Eons ago, Mahamanjuśri came overland from China, via the eastern town of Dwalkha, on an arduous journey to pay homage to the divine light that burnt perpetually on the lake's surface, according to a popular legend. After human civilization fostered in the valley, people built many shrines dedicated to Mahamanjuśri here to pay obeisance to him.
This evening, to commemorate Mahamanjuśri's great deed of establishing a pious land suitable for their ancestors to start a settlement, the people of Kathmandu valley polish his stone image, especially his feet, with mustard oil to relieve him from the pain of his tiring travels. This ritual is accompanied by the cleaning and decoration of his shrine, in preparation for his grand worship tomorrow to mark Śri Pãcami, the day when children are introduced to the alphabet as per ancient tradition.
Traditionally, the seven-syllable mantra in praise of Goddess Bāgiśori -- न मो बा गी श्व रा य Na Mo Bā Gi Śo Rā Ya -- is taught to children to start their formal education tomorrow.
As part of the worship ceremony, devotees swallow three grains of unblemished rice without the teeth touching them. This is a symbolic gesture of ensuring that one's body and mind are never devoid of the essence of a pure and wholesome lifestyle.
Śri Pãcami is also the first day of spring, known locally as Vasanta Ritu. The indigenous Newa people of Kathmandu valley start singing spring songs and hymns from this day.
Śri Pãcami is also considered auspicious to hold rite-of-passage ceremonies, such as weddings, without the need to consult an astrological calendar.
If a married woman observes a fast on Śri Pãcami, it is believed she would be loved even more by her husband.
Śri is another name for Goddess Laxmi, the deity of prosperity, as per Newa tradition. Śri Pãcami is also celebrated as her birthday.
The name Śri Pãcami is derived from the last syllable in Mahamanjuśri. It falls on Silla Tho Pãcami as per the lunar Nepal Samvat calendar, and on Magh Shukla Pãcami as per the solar calendar.
The shrine of Mahamanjuśri near Swoyambhu is known as मञ्जःसलि Mãjạsali. Built in the 17th century CE, it was renovated in 1784 CE by a Buddhist monk Jayapatidev. Thousands of devotees, both Hindu and Buddhist, visit the shrine tomorrow to worship the image of Mahamanjuśri. The main feature at this shrine is his footprint atop a stone lotus flower.
Science does not verify that Mahamanjuśri's flaming sword chopped off the mountains to drain the lake. But geophysical analysis has proved that Kathmandu valley was indeed a lake some thirty thousand years ago. Over time, the soft limestone composition of the hills in its southern rim eroded away to gradually let out the lake's water through the न्हसिकाप Nhasikāp (Chovāh) gorge, from where the Bagmati river exits the valley today.
Copyed by Alok Siddhi Tuladhar.
