Nepal’s Controversial Gadimai Festival

Butchers raise their blades at a temple before the first animal sacrifices by priests were conducted for the Gadhimai festival in the village of Bariyapur on November 28, 2014. Millions of Hindu devotees from Nepal and India migrate to the village to honour their goddess of power. The celebrations includes the slaughtering of hundreds of thousands of animals, mostly buffalo and goats. Worshippers have spent days sleeping out in the open and offering prayers to the goddess at a temple decked with flowers in preparation. AFP PHOTO/ROBERTO SCHMIDT (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

Every five years a fair is held at the Gadhimai temple in Bara district of Nepal. During this fair, people from Nepal and India arrive to sacrifice animals .These animals range from buffaloes to rats.Thousands of buffaloes and tens of thousands of small animals are sacrificed in the fair which lasts for many days. Sacrifices are either offered by priests or others in the grounds around the temple. This tradition started about 250 years ago. The country and world famous five year old Gadhimai Mela in Bariyarpur, reflects the spiritual, religious and social mythological relationship between India and Nepal.

There is a world famous temple located in Bariapur village of Bara district. This temple is very ancient. It also has a place among the major shrines of Nepal. Located in the border area, this temple is visited by people from many states od Inida including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Delhi .This fair starts from the seventh of the month of Ashwin. More than 60 lakhs devotees reach this fair.

Bhagwan Chaudhary was locked in Kathmandu Nakhu Jail, the capital of Nepal. Suddenly the goddess appeared and said take me from here. After much debate, the prison door opened on its own. The security guard informed the officer about the situation. After this, Gadhi Mai herself reached Bariyarpur desolate place with her devotee and said I will stay here. Where the temple is built. This fair lasts for five years. Where the goddesses themselves appear.

The story of the establishment of Gadhimai

Gadhimai Devi, which has a long history of about 265 years, is believed to have been established during the reign of the Tirahutes of Bara Simraungadh. At one time, a person of Tharu caste was detained as a prisoner in Makwanpur Gadhi. The goddess in the fort advised him to take himself from there in a dream and establish himself. The prisoners were released from the jail that night and the goddess was taken to Bariyarpur. According to the locals, the same person became a priest in Gadhi Mai after that. Even today, it is believed that his descendants are priests in Gadhi Mai. Harisingh Dev and his queen Deval Devi, who had fled from Simraungadh, stayed overnight in this fort. According to legend, a part of Tuljadevi that they took with them is in Gadhi Mai area. Gadhi Mai of Bara, Bariyarpur is considered to be the goddess of reality. According to the priests, she is believed to have fulfilled her wish. According to local tradition, at one time there was a perfect man named Rassaguru in the area. He made the tigers his own by pleasing the goddess

In Gadhi Mai, it is customary to perform puja once every five years. On that occasion, white mice, lambs, pigs and calves are sacrificed. It is customary to allow devotees to worship and offer sacrifices only after offering sacrifices on behalf of the temple. Gadhi Mai is also the place where the largest number of bullocks are sacrificed at one time. As these goddesses are believed to fulfill the desires of the devotees, a large crowd of people offer animal sacrifices to these mothers on the occasion of the fair. Eighty percent of Indians come to offer sacrifices. Stopped by India in the previous fair

Bhagwan Chaudhary was locked in Kathmandu Nakhu Jail, the capital of Nepal. Suddenly the goddess appeared and said take me from here. After much debate, the prison door opened on its own. The security guard informed the officer about the situation. After this, Gadhi Mai herself reached Bariyarpur desolate place with her devotee and said I will stay here. Where the temple is built

Traditional Belief

It is believed that the trident placed in the open field of Bariyarpur destroys the spiritual, primordial and primordial. To the south of the place where the trident was installed, a temple with a statue of the goddess can also be seen.Sacrifice will be opened for those who come to Gadhimai with the vow of sacrifice after the five sacrifices including human blood by strict tantric and religious method. Out of the five sacrifices offered to the Goddess, two white mice are worshiped by a group of priests who went to the forest on the 17th and performed Tantric worship. Does As soon as the lamp is lit, 5 duck eggs are sacrificed and a trident is buried in the egg. And 5 Ranga temples

Restrictions and protest

A statement issued by Human Society International (HSI) and Animal Welfare Network Nepal (AWNN) said, “Victory! Animal sacrifice was banned at Garhimai Fair in Nepal. 5 lakhs animals were saved. ” These organizations held press conferences in Delhi and Bihar in which four important members of the temple committee, including the chief priest, took part. India banned export of animal during Gadhimai .There has been a lot of protest against the Gadhimai tradition

Pagoda style temple

The idol inside the pagoda style temple has a history of being established by Upendra Bikram Shah about 150 years ago. Although not very big in terms of other temples in Nepal, it is attractive to anyone who visits it. During the fair, tens of millions of tourists and devotees from different states of India and Nepal are present and special lamps are lit during the puja. There are ample transport facilities to reach the religious tourist area located in Bariyarpur, Mahagadhimai Municipality-1, 7 km east of the district headquarters Kalaiya. There is daily day and night bus service from the capital Kathmandu to Kalaiya and Tata Sumo service. You can easily reach Simara by air via Birgunj. Indian tourists also reach there from Birgunj via Raxaul. A deluxe toilet has been constructed for the visitors at the Gadhimai Mela where millions of devotees visit and a large number of animals are sacrificed. Roads, electricity, market management, parking lots, drinking water have been made easily accessible. Compared to last year, the Mahagadhimai Fair Management Main Committee has awarded Rs 122,000 for entertainment contract, Rs 6.5 million for land contract and Rs 850,000 for car parking contract. Last year, the contract was awarded for Rs 16 million, but this year, the contract is in the process of being fair.