Tongue-piercing festival held in Thimi as Bhaktapur's Indra fair concludes

The day after Indra Jatra, the traditional tongue-piercing festival was celebrated in Madhyapur Thimi, while in Bhaktapur the Indra Daha fair concluded with the deity Indrayani being brought back into the Devgriha (deity house).

Birendra Bhakta Gaju Shrestha, 39, of Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-4, Balkumari, had his tongue pierced for the fifth time this year. At the courtyard in front of Digu Bhairav in Digutol, karmi naike Babukaji Shrestha pierced his tongue with an approximately 10-inch-long, three-pronged iron needle.

He then carried the "Mahadwip," also called Bhaye, and walked barefoot in procession through the neighborhoods of Balkumari, Siddhikali, Bhimsen Chowk and Bhulakhel. Believed to be about 350 years old, the festival has been intermittently halted due to lack of funds, and was resumed in 2074 BS after an 11-year gap. Organizing the festival costs more than six hundred thousand rupees.

In Bhaktapur, the idol of Indrayani was carried on a palanquin from the Devgriha at Khauma to Siddhipokhari, also known as Indra Daha. On the full moon day, crowds of devotees gathered to bathe in the pond and perform Indra puja.

According to culture expert Prof. Dr. Purushottam Lochan Shrestha, the fair concludes once the deity is taken around the city in procession and returned to the Devgriha.

In Kathmandu's Indra Jatra this year, the "Panjaran Dagin" ritual was performed after 24 years. According to Buddhist scholar Prof. Dr. Nareshman Bajracharya, under Newa Buddhist tradition, the person who makes the "Naran Panjaran" donation is regarded as equal to Indra. This time, Purnakaji Dangol of Chamati completed the donation.