Ward No. 15 of KMC Invites One and All to Participate in the Swayambhu Festival

The preparations for Swayambhu Festival, being organized to promote the geographical, religious, cultural, social identity and local products of Ward No. 15 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City are being completed.

The Chairman of Ward No. 15 Ishwar Man Dangol has informed that the preparations for the festival, to be held from Falgun 10 to 17, have reached the final stage. Ward No. 15 is organizing the festival to establish the diverse characteristics of the ward’s geographical location, religious, cultural and social customs and traditions, ancient monuments including monasteries, temples, chaityas, and monasteries as an identity.

Regarding the festival, Ward Chairman Dangol says, “The festival is being organized to promote a harmonious identity that everyone can say is my festival. Our intention is that this identity can lead to sustainable development of the ward, the ward residents, the community, and the private and social sectors.” Giving information about the activities, he has invited everyone to actively participate in the festival.

The festival plans to provide exhibitions and services from about 60 stalls. The exhibition will include traditional musical instruments, pictures related to the rituals of the ward residents from birth to death, pictures related to culture and tradition, pictures related to the life of Buddha, postage stamps and currencies.

Original goods and items produced by the ward residents will also be exhibited. Similarly, there will be stalls of original food, health check-ups, blood donation and other services. Activities such as Ranjana script writing, face painting will be the attractions of the festival. The festival, which will be organized with the slogan ‘Ancestor’s Pride, Nepali Pride’, will include cultural and entertainment programs and games.

The ward has already organized a ward-level discussion for local participation in the festival. Similarly, a program has been completed along with a bicycle rally to promote the festival. Currently, the locals are busy managing the goods and items to be displayed at the festival and practicing cultural programs.

Here is a brief description of the Ward No. 15.

The area of the ward is 316.5 hectares. According to the 2018 census, the population of the ward is 52,668. Of these, 26,323 are males and 26,345 are females. The number of households is 14,081.

Swayambhu Mahachaitya is the integral identity of the ward. Swayambhu is believed to have originated in ancient times when water accumulated throughout the valley and formed a pond. It is believed that Mahamanjushri Bodhisattva opened the pond from four directions (Fuchwa, Dhilachwa, Jamachwa and Sipuchwa) and discharged the accumulated water out, and then built the settlement.

After the settlement was established, Prachanda Dev, who was made king, built a semicircular dome and protected Swayambhu. The symbol of the Panchabuddha Panchatattva (the symbol of the four elements) and the four stars (the symbol of the four great elements) have been placed in its womb. On it, the eyes of the Buddha are placed as wisdom and remedy, and the question mark is placed as a symbol of saving all kinds of beings. The Trayodasha Bhuvan on the hemispherical shape is considered as the stepping stone to attain enlightenment.

There is also a saying that in ancient times, the Goshringa Parvat area became Swayambhu from the name Singu/Syangu. There are four Puras in the four directions of the Swayambhu Stupa: Basupura (earth) in the southeast corner, Vayupura (air) in the southwest corner, Agnipura (fire) in the northwest corner and Nagpura (water) in the northeast corner. Each of these puras is considered a symbol of the world of freedom and completeness.

Shantipur, Harati Mata, Mahamanjushree Saraswati Sthan, Lakhu Tirtha, Shobha Bhagwati Temple on the banks of the Bishnumati River, Saraswati Temple in Sasukhwat Tole, Mahavishno Temple and Ganesh Temple in Dallu Tole, Bhimsen Temple in Dhimelwahan and Nasal Devta are the places of worship of the locals.

Similarly, the locals have a strong faith in the Madhav Narayan Temple in Tulsidhara, the Bagh Bhairab Temple in Dhumbakhel, the Ghorinag Temple in Machakhushi, the Vishwakarma Temple on the Swayambhu Parikrama Marg, the Seti Devi Temple on Kimdol Danda, the Bhelu Bhimpu Mahadev in Dallu, the Suryavinayak in Bhagwan Paun, and the Karya Vinayak outside the Chakrapath.

The Samhegu Vihar, Kindol Vihar, Anandakuti Vihar, Anand Bhuvan Vihar, Bhuikhel Baha, Jagatuddhar Vihar, Siddhi Vihar, Dhimelwahan Buddhist Vihar, and Shraddha Kirti Vihar are Buddhist vihars within the ward. The famous Karna Deep, Lamas’ Deep, Kapalis’ Samadhisthal, Lakhutirtha Deep, Muslim Graves, and Bhantes’ Deep are the places related to death rituals in this ward.