KATHMANDU: To be able to give, you have to have the heart. And during Pancha Daan it is believed that the daan (donation) given in this festival is the biggest daan in the Buddhist religion. The festival falls on Bhadrakrishna Triyodashi according to the lunar calendar, which was on September 11 this year and it was celebrated in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Kirtipur, Panga and more. On this day the Buddhist Newars (Shakya, Bajracharya, Maharjan, Tuladhar and more) donate various things to the Newar priest clans — Bajracharya and Shakya — visiting various Bahal, Bahi, Twa, Chuka, Nani (Square), et cetera. The festival also becomes the day to display various traditional artefacts such as Paubha, effigies of Dipankar Buddha, Tara, Avalokiteshvara and more. For some, the festival has also become the day to help the community by donating what they can to restore historically, religiously and culturally important Bihars. Legend behind Pancha Daan Pancha Daan means donating five different things including rice grains, unhusked rice grains, salt, money and pulses that are needed for one’s daily life. These days, as per one’s will and capacity, people donate other things besides that. There is no concrete record on when the festival started but according to the legend, the festival began during the reign of king Sarvananda, as per 75-year-old Yagyaman Pati Bajracharya, a member of Shreenaka Mahabihar, Hanuman Dhoka who was also donating at Pancha Daan. “During the time of king Sarvananda he wished to invite, one among numerous Dipankar Tathagat to his palace for lunch and the king wished to offer other things to him. Dipankar Tathagat accepted the invitation. On the day of the visit, Dipankar Tathagat met an elderly lady on his way. She had a few rice grains and wanted to invite Dipankar Tathagat to her home. Dipankar Tathagat accepted her kind invitation, which made him late for the king’s invitation.” According to Yagyaman, the king got annoyed and asked if it was Buddha’s justice to ignore the appointment and visit somebody else — the king had arranged rice grains, clothes and more for the Buddha and it was not fair on Buddha’s part to be late for lunch at the palace. Then the Buddha asked how the king got together all those things and the king answered, it was from his treasury. Again Buddha asked who had brought the things to his treasury; the king said his ministers and officers. Buddha asked how the king’s men had brought those. The king said, as tax from his citizens. “The last Buddha then told him that the things the king had arranged for donation all came from his citizens and perhaps the king’s men might have taken the tax forcefully from poor citizens, which meant it was not earned by the king himself but that he had earned it sinfully. So the Buddha told the king that he would accept the king’s offering only when the king earned it with his sweat and blood,” shared Yagyaman. The king then began to live a secret life at night where he worked for a blacksmith and earned some money. With the money earned the king visited the Buddha which made the Buddha happy, and since that day it is believed that the festival Pancha Daan began, as per Yagyaman. Significance of Pancha Daan During Pancha Daan, Bajracharya and Shakya clans visit various places and it becomes a time to get to know one’s place. There is no particular route to be followed as each individual has their own way of visiting places for the daan. Talking about the significance of Pancha Daan, 60-year-old Sagarman Bajracharya, Secretary of Ratnakirti Mahabihar, Makhaan Bahal shared, “Buddha’s teaching has said that one should donate some per cent of one’s earning with a clean heart and donating in Pancha Daan is a way of following Buddha’s teaching.” Agreeing with him Yagyaman added, “Giving anything without attachment is an act of kindness which gives the giver pleasure making us healthy and tension-free. And it also helps build friendship which brings harmony in society that reduces ill acts like theft.” For some receivers (who receive the donation), it has a specific meaning — Lilendra Muni Bajracharya said, “For receivers, it makes the person humble and is a way to earn dharma by letting the donors get rid of their sin because donation helps to decrease one’s sin done knowingly/or unknowingly.” According to Daangaatha, a song that is sung during Pancha Daan, giving without expecting anything in return leads to a greater spiritual wealth on this land and is a way to reach heaven after death. Also the day of Pancha Daan signifies change in yuga (era) from Kali yuga (Era of Vice) to Satya yuga (Era of Truth) where giving daan on this day is considered the greatest daan. Modern take In ancient times, females were not included in the daan giving, but these day you can see women in the festival. Recalling the earlier days Yagyaman shared, “We used to be shy while receiving daan and very cautious about receiving it in public and would take it if there were no one to see us. But these days people come together from a particular place, club or in a team where most of them participate so that they can conduct philanthropic public projects.” Prajita Bajracharya, who participated in taking daan expressed, “This is my first time participating in Pancha Daan and I am here for a cause — our club is going to renovate a bahal from the donation collected in Pancha Daan. Participating in Pancha Daan helps you learn to value your culture and your society.” One such example is the Bajracharya Club — it has been seven years the club has been helping to renovate various bihars from donations collected during Pancha Daan. The club has contributed to help renovate the Lumbini Bajrayani Bihar Lumbini, Bajrashil Mahabihar Iku Bahal, Hemvarna Mahabihar Gum Bahal Ason and this year’s donation will help rebuild Manisangh Mahabihar and Mikha Bahal, as per Shailendra Man Bajracharya, Founder/President of Bajracharya Club. He added, “This way the festival has become a means for the youth to know about our heritage and preserve and protect our heritage.” The members of club visited 18 bahals and bihars in and around the area of Ason, Indrachowk, Hanuman Dhoka and Lagan. On this day if you visit bahals and bihars, you will get to witness Paubha, effigies of Dipankar Buddha, Tara, Avalokiteshvara and more that have been in the possession of families and have been handed down from one generation to other. If you happen to follow one of them on this day, you will be surprised to see different sized bahals and bihars with magnificent architectural beauty hidden behind urban settlement.