Kojagrat Poornima

From today, Dashain has officially come to an end. The 15 days from Dashain Pratipada to today's full moon is also called Durgapaksha. Today, on the Kojagrat full moon, the full moon will rise in the sky at night and the auspicious lights (Mahadeep Jyoti) will be lit at night in the temples including Swayambhu in Kathmandu. Kojagrat Purnima is also the day of Pratipada, the day when the soil deposited in Ghatsthapana and the collected jamaras are duly disposed of in a river or reservoir.

There is another significance of this day, the day that Goddess Lakshmi comes to visit the earth at night, and those who do not sleep at night and worship and chant Lord Laxmi's bhajan are believed to be blessed by Dhanadhanya Goddess.

 After the Kojagrat Purnima, it is customary to cut a bamboo and make a small house of colored paper on its top and light a skylight inside it every evening till the day of Kartik Shukla Purnima.
In the Tarai, it is customary to play Kauda today. Kauda is like a kind of gambling. Small pieces of Kauda are thrown into the playing arena (Khaal) by hand and money is wagered depending on the possibility of turning them over and re-turning them.

It is getting cold at night along with the cold. Don't underestimate the growing cold, especially in the case of children and the elderly. Stay safe from COVID infection and let's wait for colorful Tihar now.

Suyog Dhakal