This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.

Nepali Hindus Celebrate Sacred Thread Festival

Nepali Hindus Celebrate Sacred Thread Festival
A Hindu priest wearing a sacred thread performs a ritual during the Janai Purnima festival (Sacred Thread Festival) at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, August 18, 2016. Hindus take holy baths and change their sacred thread, also known as Janai, for protection and purification, during the festival. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters
A Hindu priest wearing a sacred thread performs a ritual during the Janai Purnima festival (Sacred Thread Festival) at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, August 18, 2016. Hindus take holy baths and change their sacred thread, also known as Janai, for protection and purification, during the festival. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

The Janai Purnima, or sacred thread festival, is an important moment in the year for Hindus in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Hindu devotees in the region have a tradition of wearing a sacred thread, known as a Janai. The cotton cord is worn diagonally across the torso.

On August 18, Hindu priests gathered at the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu to cleanse themselves during ritual baths and to change their Janai.

Elsewhere in Kathmandu Valley, lay people took dips in holy ponds and lakes and received Rakshya Bandhan threads from Hindu priests. The yellow threads are tied around the wrists and are a symbol of protection.

Scroll down to see images from this sacred festival.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.