52 Places to Go in 2024
18 Jan 2024
Hartalika Teej | Nepalese Women’s Festival – Highlights
Dar (Feast)
On the eve of Teej, women enjoy a special feast called “Dar”, with sweets, fruits, and traditional delicacies, before beginning the fast.
Cultural Essence
Teej is a festival celebrated by women all over Nepal for three days, usually around August or September. During this time, women wear red sarees, put on red tika and bangles, and sing and dance to traditional folk songs. The festival holds special significance for married women, as they receive invitations to visit their maternal homes and participate in feasting.Following a long feast also known as Dar, the women, sit for a 24-hour long fasting, where most do not eat or even drink water. What is fascinating is to watch women of all age groups, young and old, dance for hours in the heat, and rain, without a drop of water or food for an entire day.It is a sight to behold at the Pashupatinath temple, where thousands of women draped in Red and green throng the premises of the temple. Observers can take photos of these women dancing merrily, where sometimes foreigners, especially women tourists are requested to participate in the merry-making. The significance of such a festival is for women to ask for special blessings by Lord Shiva, to have attain a good husband in life, and to pray for his longevity and prosperity.
On the final day of this three-day festival, Women satisfy seven saints by offering them food, money, and various offerings, and also bathing with Red mud and brushing their teeth with Datiwan (branches of a bush tree) hoping this purifies their body and soul.
How is Haritalika Teej Celebrated?
1. Dar Khane Din(Feast Day) – The Day Before Teej
Women gather with friends and family for a grand feast, singing, and dancing.
This is the last meal before the fast, often held in the evening.
2. Teej Day (Main Day) – Fasting and Prayer
Women observe a strict fast, without food or water (nirjala vrat) for 24 hours.
They dress in red saris, adorn themselves with green bangles and pote (beaded necklaces), and gather at Shiva temples, especially Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.
They sing devotional Teej songs, dance in groups, and offer prayers for marital happiness and well-being.
3. Rishi Panchami – The Day After Teej
A day of ritual purification where women bathe in holy rivers and offer prayers to the seven sages (Sapta Rishi) for forgiveness of past sins.
