BAITADI: With the end of big festivals like Dashain and Tihar, the time for Jatra or fairs has begun in the hilly districts of the Sudurpachim province.

Jatras are held in various temples in Baitadi, Darchula, Dadeldhura, Doti, Bajhang and other districts on the full moon day of the month of Kartik.

Local culture expert Jayananda Bhatta said that Jatras are held in various Shaktipeeths and temples from Kartik Shukla Pratipada to Poornima. There is a tradition of mass worship in temples and Shaktipeeths of various deities.

With the beginning of the Shukla Paksha of the month Kartik, processions are held at the famous Tripura Sundari Bhagwati of Baitadi, Raula Kedar, known as Kedarnath among the twelve Jyotirlingas, Melauli Bhagwati, Falangasaini Bhagwati, Shivnath, Maharudra, Trivanidham (Ratashila), Ganmeshwar, and Jagannath temples.

Similarly, processions are held at Kafalasaini Bhagwati, Jagannath, Sigas Dhura, Sansher, Surpal, and Anirudra temples in Kartik Shukla Paksha.

Similarly, fairs are held at Malikarjun Dham and Latinath temples in Darchula and in the temples of Ugratara and Bhageshwor in Dadeldhura on the Kartik Shukla Paksha.

The Badikedar temple in Doti is also holding its fair. Similarly, Jagannath and Ganemeshwor temples hold fairs followed by the famous Malikarjun Dham. Along with locals, Indian pilgrims from the border region also come to take part in the fair held here.

Indian journalist Pramod Bhatta said that every year Indian devotees reach Baitadi, Dadeldhura, and Darchula in Nepal to take part in the fairs. “We have been coming to the Tripura Sundari Bhagwati Temple for generations to have darshan. This year too, thousands have prepared for a darshan,” he said.