Thousands taking part in ‘Dipankha Yatra’

October 17, 2005
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Devotees in the 24-hour long ‘Dipankha Yatra’ march, a religious procession of ‘Neel Thu’ (blue horned bull), which is being conducted after 38 years in Kathmandu, Monday, Oct 17 05.

Devotees in the 24-hour long ‘Dipankha Yatra’ march, a religious procession of ‘Neel Thu’ (blue horned bull), which is being conducted after 38 years in Kathmandu, Monday, Oct 17 05. nepalnews.com/rh
Tens of thousands of Buddhist and Hindu devotees are taking part in `Dipankha Yatra’—a religious ceremony– that kicked off from Nagabahal in Lalitpur early on Monday.

Though the organizers had planned to start the procession at around 4 this morning, they had to start it at 3:15 a. m. due to overwhelming numbers of devotees. Hundreds of volunteers and health professionals have been assisting the devotees to complete their more than 24 hour long trek through major religious sites in the capital.

The ceremony is taking place after 38 years in the Nepalese capital.

The devotees passed through Jhamsikhel, Teku, Pachali and reached Swoyambhu this afternoon. From Swoyambhu, the procession will visit Bijeswori, Bodhanath, Guheswori and Pashupatinath and end at Mahalaxmi in Lalitpur district Tuesday morning.

The organizers had made provision for free accommodation at various places of Patan for the devotees. Interestingly, a huge number of youths are also taking part in the rare ceremony that aims at spreading the message of peace and harmony between various religious communities including Hindus and Buddhists. Some reports said some groups of devotees had lost their way and were confused about the route of the procession.

According to the legend, Dipanker Buddha breathed life to the idol of a bull named ‘Neel Thu’ (or Blue-horned bull). The bull visited 131 various religious sites before returning to Nagbahal, which the devotees are trying to retrace.

Valley Traffic Police Office in Kathmandu had requested the commuters in the capital to help the procession pass through various parts of the city.