Mha: Puja - A Festival of Tihar

 

Very useful for Newar community who do not understand the Nepali language:

What is Mhapuja? How to do it and why?

The Newar community is one of the most important ethnic groups in Nepal. Construction of the Kathmandu Valley, it can be easily inferred that the beginning of the Newar civilization took place when Manjushree, who came from Mahachin, made the water of Kathmandu in the form of a lake a habitable valley by extracting it from the Chobhar gorge. They built various immeasurable treasures in the Kathmandu Valley. The temples, Sattal Pati Pauvas are immortal assets here while the language, literature, art, processions, festivals are invaluable cultural heritages of Nepal. Due to the high level of the cultural heritage of the Newars, many people have come from the North, South East, and West to settle down and eventually become Newars. So there are many kinds of diversity within the Newars. In this article, I have tried to present some information about the worship of Newars among the various invaluable heritages of Newars.

The life philosophy of Newars is unique. People who have done positive deeds by the Newars have become gods and goddesses and we also carry the philosophy that we can become gods if we continue to do positive deeds and public works. Based on this philosophy, every human being worships himself saying that there is a god inside him or that every person is like a god. The tradition of worshiping oneself in this way is a unique and original tradition. In Newari, ‘mha’ means body, so ‘mha puja’ can be understood as body worship. Our body is made up of a combination of various natural elements like land, water, air, sky, radiance. The flesh is the earth element, the blood is the water element, the air is the element that moves the body in and out, the power to digest what we eat is the energy element, even some parts of our body remain empty, and our mind is a reflection of the sky is inherent in the tradition of worship.

Our body is perfected by all these five elements working in their respective places. According to the philosophy that we should be able to live in harmony with the five elements outside, each of these five elements is always used in Mhapuja. For example, in the egg sagun given on the day of Mhapuja, the egg represents the celestial element, the bara represents the air element, the fish represents the water element, the meat represents the land element and the alcohol represents the sharp element. In the same way, there are five round circles in the mandapa during Mhapuja. The eight leaves around the mandapa are also made in a line which indicates the leaves around the lotus flower. Most of the Mhapuja mandapas are well built and our minds become happy.

Now I would like to say a few things about when Mhapuja is done - how it is done - why it is done. The Newars perform Mha Puja on the day of Kartik Shuklapaksh according to the date of Nepal Sambat. Lakshmi is worshiped one day before the festival. This day is celebrated on the day of the return of the Nepal Sambat. It mainly requires worship items like rekhi, avir, akshata, paddy, rice, incense, ita made of old cloth, lawo jajanka flowers, etc. After that, a new kucho, a nanglo, an urn of pure water, and a sukunda, a child of silauto, are also brought and decorated with a mandapa as a symbol of the deity.

It is necessary to build as many mandapas as there are people to worship. At this time, mandapas are also built for Yamaraj, Chitragupta, Baliraja, Yamaraj's sister Yamuna. Similarly, yogurt, fruits, and sweets are required in other foods, but Dhaw Pasi is compulsory. In the same way, boiled then fried eggs, fish, meat, and bara are needed to give sagun. Now let's look at the main steps that are taken while performing Mhapuja.

First of all, even those who are worshiped should be bathed as cleanly as possible. Before performing Mhapuja, worship in the courtyard in front of the house, by lighting lamps in all parts of the house. After applying, it should be wiped with a brush. After the removal, the yellow line should be made as per the tradition to make the mandapa. It should be turned to the north and a small mandap should be made and decorated for Bhancho, Kalash Sukunda, etc.

After that, Yamaraj and Chitraguptas should also build a small mandapa facing south. In this way, a large mandap should be built according to the number of families in the house between the mandaps built for the gods facing north and the Yamaraj Gana returning to the south. After constructing the mandapa, according to your tradition, the mandapa should be decorated by keeping a little bit of oil, yellow tika, fusre(bhuyu) tika, akshata, paddy, and rice. Before doing all this, you have to make a big water wheel(La: Manda). After doing so, the worshipers should sit in a line in front of their mandapas with the order of seniority under the gods and it is considered appropriate to sit facing east as much as possible. After doing so, Mhapuja begins duly.

The worshipers first light incense in their respective mandapas. In this too, incense is first lit towards the gods and Yamaraj. After that, the Nakin - by the lady of the house is brought to bow down to the curd, pooja plate, and egg sagun material. After doing so, everyone is put with yogurt on men, on the right conch, on women, on the left conch. After that, the rice is incapacitated, the yogurt is whipped, the mhapuja is counted, and everyone is taken turns to the deities, towards Yamaraj, to the mandapa in front of them, and to Grihalakshmi. After doing so, the same vaccine is applied to everyone's forehead. After this, everyone is given a long Khelu Ita (a long lamp of about one hand) for worship and is handed over to everyone in their respective mandapas. Then everyone is given a plate of fruit. It is called Sisang, meaning fruit sagun. As soon as they pick the fruit, everyone wears the long jajanka and garland. After giving the fruit sagun, the sweet sagun (plate of sel, puri, nimki, etc.) is given.

After doing so, the egg is fertilized. The giver of the egg is the one with the egg in his right hand and the one with the alcohol in his left hand. If you don't want to eat Saguna with Lina, you have to wait until you get it. Even the worshipers of eggs have been drinking alcohol after the eldest has eaten it. Sagun eggs should be taken three times and alcohol should be drunk three times. And once you drink alcohol, you should add three more medals. This means that we need three powers to do whatever we want. These are the three powers - the first physical power, the second mental power, the third intellectual power. It is to wish your life success by being full of all three kinds of power.

After everyone has eaten the egg sagun, everyone is anointed in a mano or pathi with flower pieces, fruit pieces, lava, etc., by pouring three times from the head to each person. It is called Ghwalla in the Newari language. After doing so, the Nakin of the house should be bowed by touching the knees three times, touching the shoulders, and touching the head. In this, Nakin should bow down even if his son or daughter is a grandchild. -It can be unique for others. After doing so, put yogurt in a bowl, put some kind of fruit in it, mix it, and feed it a little bit. It is called Dhaumu Khwane in Newari. After eating even the dhaumu, a kucho should be carried from the place where the deity was established to the small mandapa of Yamaraj.

After this, a happy feast is held at the same place. No matter what is written in this Mhapuja process, the process of Mhapuja may vary from place to place according to the last name. The best thing to do is to worship as you did before. Although there is some variation in worshiping and writing mandapa, the philosophy hidden in worship is the same.

Mhapuja of Newars is a fundamental festival. It can also be called self-worship. According to most of our traditional sambats, the year changes in Kartik Mansir. One year after doing various activities in agriculture, industry, trade, and worshiping Lakshmi one day ago, remembering that one year has been completed, be healthy next year, be more organized in your activities, keep the Panchatatva in your body stable and balanced. Keep your body, mind, and money stable. Let your self-confidence come so that you can solve all the problems in life. I wish you to increase your mental strength and intellectual power.

One of the misconceptions about Mhapuja is that since Nepal Sambat and Mhapuja fell on the same day, it is seldom heard that Shankhadhar, the founder of Nepal Sambat, started the tradition of Mhapuja by paying off the debts of all Assamese. In fact, this is not true. This Mhapuja is a tradition that has come long before Nepal Sambat. According to the Sambat established by Shankdhar, the day of Mhapuja is celebrated by remembering the coming of the new year as a holy day. 

Speaking of Mhapuja, it is a powerful identity of the Newar caste.