"Teej Temple"

#12683369

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women dance inside a temple after performing rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025, on the day of Rishi Panchami. Rishi Panchami marks the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12683364

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women stand in queue to enter the temple to perform rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025, on the day of Rishi Panchami. Rishi Panchami marks the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12683365

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women stand in queue to enter the temple to perform rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025, on the day of Rishi Panchami. Rishi Panchami marks the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12683366

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women stand in queue to enter the temple to perform rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025, on the day of Rishi Panchami. Rishi Panchami marks the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12683367

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women stand in queue to enter the temple to perform rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025, on the day of Rishi Panchami. Rishi Panchami marks the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12683368

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women stand in queue to enter the temple to perform rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025, on the day of Rishi Panchami. Rishi Panchami marks the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12683375

28 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women walk through the muddy path on their return from the Rishi temple after performing rituals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 28, 2025. Rishi Panchami is celebrated to mark the conclusion of the Teej festival. The festival is observed primarily by women who have reached menstruation age, as a day of purification and devotion. Fasting and worship are performed to honor the Sapta Rishis--the seven revered sages in Hindu mythology--with the belief that doing so absolves them of any sins believed to have been committed during their menstrual cycles. On this day, devotees wake up early and bathe in nearby rivers, ponds, streams, or lakes as part of the ritual. They cleanse their bodies using 365 stems of Apamarga (a medicinal plant), as well as cow dung, sacred soil, and ash. The fasting ritual involves a morning bath followed by prayer. Devotees then eat a single meal consisting of grains, wild fruits, kandamul (edible roots), vegetables, and guava before resuming their fast.

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#12678162

26 August 2025

Fasting Nepali Hindu women throng a Shiva Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 26, 2025, while observing the festival of Teej. Women on this third day of the dark half of the lunar month that falls in the Nepali month of Bhadra observe fasting and wish for a prosperous life while observing the festival. The 'Teej' festival, also celebrated as 'Haritalika,' is also observed in various parts of India. According to the 'Skanda Puran' (a religious scripture of the Hindus), this festival gets the name 'Haritalika Teej' as it is on this very day in the 'Satya Yug' (golden epoch of truth) that the daughter of the Himalayas, Parvati, is hidden by her maids because of her refusal to marry Lord Vishnu. A day before 'Teej,' on the night of the second day of the fortnight in the month of Bhadau, women enjoy a variety of delicious dishes known as 'Dar' at their parental home where they are especially invited for this purpose. The women on the day of 'Teej' are seen engrossed in jubilant dancing and singing in a carefree mood. Women put on bangles, 'Pote' (a necklace made of glass beads), 'Tilahari,' and 'Sindur' (crimson powder) considered the symbols of good luck and dress themselves up in red saris or other red outfits and adorn themselves with different kinds of ornaments. Women in the morning take ritual baths and offer worship while in the evening they pay homage to Lord Shiva, light lamps, and spend the night awake.

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#12678551

26 August 2025

A Hindu woman offers a ritual prayer at Gopaleshor Temple during the Teej festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 26, 2025.

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#12678552

26 August 2025

A Hindu woman offers a ritual prayer at Gopaleshor Temple during the Teej festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 26, 2025.

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#12678553

26 August 2025

A Hindu woman offers a ritual prayer at Gopaleshor Temple during the Teej festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 26, 2025.

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#12678554

26 August 2025

A Hindu woman offers a ritual prayer at Gopaleshor Temple during the Teej festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 26, 2025.

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#12678555

26 August 2025

A Hindu woman offers a ritual prayer at Gopaleshor Temple during the Teej festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 26, 2025.

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#11557538

8 September 2024

Nepali Hindu women perform rituals at a Shiva temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 8, 2024, marking the annual Rishi Panchami festival as part of Teej. On the day of Rishi Panchami, women traditionally undergo a detailed bathing procedure and a puja of the Saptarshis (seven saints). Women observing the fast begin their day by bathing and worshipping the sages Atri, Gautam, Bharadwaj, Jamadagni, Vashishta, Kashyap, and Vishwamitra, along with Arundhati. The ritual requires 365 items for worship, including rice grains, barley, sesame seeds, flowers, lamps, betel leaves, and areca nuts. After the prayers, participants eat a single meal consisting of unbroken grains such as sama, kaguno, taro, potatoes, yams, and copperweed. According to religious beliefs, worshipping the Saptarishis cleanses devotees of all sins. The day also marks the conclusion of the Teej fast.

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#11557539

8 September 2024

Nepali Hindu women perform rituals at a Shiva temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 8, 2024, marking the annual Rishi Panchami festival as part of Teej. On the day of Rishi Panchami, women traditionally undergo a detailed bathing procedure and a puja of the Saptarshis (seven saints). Women observing the fast begin their day by bathing and worshipping the sages Atri, Gautam, Bharadwaj, Jamadagni, Vashishta, Kashyap, and Vishwamitra, along with Arundhati. The ritual requires 365 items for worship, including rice grains, barley, sesame seeds, flowers, lamps, betel leaves, and areca nuts. After the prayers, participants eat a single meal consisting of unbroken grains such as sama, kaguno, taro, potatoes, yams, and copperweed. According to religious beliefs, worshipping the Saptarishis cleanses devotees of all sins. The day also marks the conclusion of the Teej fast.

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#11557540

8 September 2024

Nepali Hindu women perform rituals at a Shiva temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 8, 2024, marking the annual Rishi Panchami festival as part of Teej. On the day of Rishi Panchami, women traditionally undergo a detailed bathing procedure and a puja of the Saptarshis (seven saints). Women observing the fast begin their day by bathing and worshipping the sages Atri, Gautam, Bharadwaj, Jamadagni, Vashishta, Kashyap, and Vishwamitra, along with Arundhati. The ritual requires 365 items for worship, including rice grains, barley, sesame seeds, flowers, lamps, betel leaves, and areca nuts. After the prayers, participants eat a single meal consisting of unbroken grains such as sama, kaguno, taro, potatoes, yams, and copperweed. According to religious beliefs, worshipping the Saptarishis cleanses devotees of all sins. The day also marks the conclusion of the Teej fast.

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