Nepal is very rich in its culture and tradition, Saune Sankranti is also a day of festival. People of different castes, ethnic groups following different religions live here. They have their own culture and traditions. Festivals reflect social, religious and cultural life of Nepal. They are mostly religious and social in nature. Some festivals are based on important events in the past. So, festivals of Nepal can be put into three categories: Religious Festivals, Social Festivals and National Festivals Geographically, Nepal is divided into three physical features: Mountain, Hill and Terai. Each of these geographical regions celebrates different religious festivals.
Saune Sankranti:-
Hindu devotees celebrated ‘Saune Sankranti’ (the first day of the Nepali month of Shrawan) by worshiping at Shiva temples especially on Monday. In Shrawan Sankranti, sun will enter Capricorn sign. In Shrawan month, worshipping Lord Shiva increases the auspiciousness of good results. During this month, Shiva Maha Puran and Shiva Stores should be read daily and then worship the Shiva linga ritually from milk, Ganga jal, Bel Patra, fruits, etc.
Activities in Saune Sankranti
According to Nepalese culture or tradition Shrawan is the month of cleaning or removing dirty thing. Nepalese are removing all dirty things of all around their home and also saying in Nepalese culture remove all kind Disease like eczema (लुतो) in holy month Shrawan. According to Nepalese tradition they worship and beat Nonglo for (नाङ्लो- A big Size of Bamboo Plate) removing type of disease like “eczema”
Additionally, worshipping Lord Shiva along with chanting the mantra “Om Namah Shivay” is considered auspicious. Observing Mangala Gauri fast and worshipping ritually on every Tuesday of this month makes the fortune more favourable for the marriage and child of a woman.
According to the legend, Samudra Manthan (the churning of oceans) took place in the month of Shravan. During the samundra manthan, fourteen different types of rubies came out and the thirteen of these were distributed among the demons, except Halahal (poison). Lord Shiva came to rescue, drank the Halahal and stored it in his throat. The throat turned blue due to effect of poison and hence the name Neelkantha (meaning blue throat) is attributed to Lord Shiva. In order to reduce the strong effect of poison, Lord Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. All the Gods thereafter started offering the Ganges water to Lord Shiva to make lessen the effect of poison.
Since then, Shiva devotees offer the Ganges water in Shrawan with a belief of earning lot of punya. Things devotees can perform during Shrawan are:
- Wearing Rudraksh
- Reciting Shiva Chalisa and Aarti
- Maha Mrityunjaya Jap
- Rudrabhisheks Fasting on Mondays
