SATV, Kathmandu, Aug. 29 - The Hindus across the nation celebrated Janai Purnima (Rakshyabandhan) with great joy and relish on Friday. 

Janai Purnima (Rishi Tarpani) or Rakshabandhan, celebrated every year on the full moon day of Saun Shukla fortnight, was marked across the country on Friday. 

Today, the followers of the Vedic Sanatan religion visited nearby rivers, lakes and ponds to bathe and tie a rakshasutra (red-yellow thread) from the priests. Those who wear a holy thread (Janai) got it changed. The red and yellow thread is purified through the chanting of mantras by priests as a badge of protection from disease. 

The festival is called Jaina Purnima as it is associated with the Janai, the sacred thread that the Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya men wear. They change the threads on this day after bathing. 

Normally, this sacred thread is worn diagonally from the left shoulder to the right waist, crossing the chest and they chant the Gayatri Mantra. 

The festival is considered sacred all over the nation and beyond and is observed in different manners by different communities.  

Janai Purnima is also called Rishi Tarpani because the Tagadharis (Janai wearers) offer tarpan to seven sages, including Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vishwamitra and Arundhati.

Devotees thronged the Pashupatinath Temple premises, Basantapur, banks of the Bagmati River and other temples from early in the morning to change janai and tie the red and yellow thread. A total of 1.8 million sacred threads have been produced by Hari Om Puja Samagri Udyog in Butwal this year in preparation for Janai Purnima, said industry operator  Sundar Bhandari. 

The industry, which has been producing sacred threads for the past six years, aims to reduce imports of foreign-made sacred threads by increasing domestic production. According to our Myagdi correspondent Thakur Acharya, crowds of devotees have gathered at Khayer Bharani, a famous religious site located at the foot of Annapurna Himal. 

On the occasion of Janai Purnima, devotees and religious tourists have been arriving since early morning. With the belief that their wishes will be fulfilled, they have been worshipping Khayer Bharani and praying for their desired blessings.