▶▶We’ve seen Bhimsen Jatra, the carnival dedicated to Bhimsen. But who is Bhimsen? According to the Mahabharata, one of the two famous Hindu epics (the other being the Ramayana), Bhimsen is the 2nd eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is well known lord among traders in his role as the patron of merchants. So, he is widely worshipped by Newar community as the ascribed role of Newars was trade or the business. Bhimsen is believed to be as strong as thousand elephants and safeguards the property of the merchants. In past, when there was no modern transportation, one had to trek to other towns or neighboring countries (i.e. Tibet and India) for the sake of trade. For that reason, he had to be strong. So, in order to gain stamina, people used to pray to Lord Bhimsen. Same practice took the form of tradition and even at present, people worship Bhimsen and consequently, the carnival is celebrated. - Paras Mani Amgain
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 08:43:53 +0000
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