Bhaktapur: On the occasion of Phagu Poornima, devotees have thronged the Bhimsen Temple in Bhaktapur.
According to National News Agency Nepal, marking the festival, a large number of people visited the Bhimsen Temple in Ardash, Yachhen Bhimsen Temple in Yachhen, and Tachpal Bhimsen Temple in Dattatray for a darshan and worshipping. It is a religious belief that worshipping the deity Bhimsen on the day of Phagu Poornima opens up new sources of income and business flourishes.
The festival of Phagu is celebrated by worshipping the Bhimsen deity and eating samaya baji, a Newari delicacy. Also called Bhising Pooja in the local language, on this day local women dressed up in hakupatasi, a Newari traditional costume, worship the deity Bhimsen, savour samaya baji and walk around the neighborhood celebrating Phagu, the festival of colors.
Later in the evening, the large wooden male linga on display at the Tachpal Bhimsen Temple in Dattatray is taken around the city, washed in the river at the Brahmayani Temple, and placed back at the temple, to conclude this year’s Phagu festival.