KATHMANDU: Matatirtha Aunsi, also known as Mother’s Day, is being celebrated with devotion and reverence across Nepal today in honor of mothers and their immeasurable contributions to family and society.
The festival is marked as a day to express love, gratitude, and respect toward mothers, who are regarded in religious scriptures as even greater than priests and fathers.
On this day, it is customary for children to wake up early, bathe, dress their mothers in beautiful clothes, offer sweet and savory foods, and seek their blessings in recognition of their selfless role and sacrifices.
Those whose mothers have passed away observe the day by remembering their mothers’ love and hardships. They offer prayers for the departed souls, make offerings in their memory, and often distribute food to the needy in their honor.
According to Prof. Dr. Devmani Bhattarai, theologist and member of the Nepal Calendar Determination Committee, ancient Vedic scriptures uphold the mother and the motherland as supreme in the verse, Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargadapi Gariyasi—meaning “the mother and the motherland are greater than even heaven.”
He notes that scriptures emphasize the mother’s significance as being a thousand times greater than that of the father, hence the deep reverence shown on this day.
A special fair is held at Mata Tirtha in Chandragiri Municipality of Kathmandu, where devotees gather to offer prayers. People also visit temples, riverbanks, and confluences to pay tribute to their late mothers.
Those with living mothers visit them bearing gifts and offerings while seeking their heartfelt blessings.
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