Kathmandu, August 25 Hindu women across the country are observing the Rhishipanchami festival today as per the rituals. The festival, the concluding day of the Teej, is observed on the fifth day of the bright half-moon of the month of Bhadra (third week of August). Women reaching their menstruation period observe this festival with due respect and importance by fasting and paying homage to the Saptarishi (seven powerful saints in Hindu mythology) with the belief that they will be blessed and forgiven all the sins they were believed to have committed during the menstrual cycle. On the day, those observing the festival wake up early in the morning, go to nearby rivers, streams, ponds and lakes and bathe with established rituals. They clean their body with 365 stems of Apamarga, a medicinal plant, take bath with cow dung and soil collected from sacred places and ash. The fasting ritual requires the devotee to take bath in the morning and carry out prayers after which the person is required to eat grains, vegetables, wild fruits and guava for a single meal and fast again. On this day, woman devotees throng the Shrisheshwor temple in Teku of the capital city, Kathmandu, and other Rishi temples across the nation for homage and worship.