Dashain is a festival for celebrating a victory of good over evil, the defeat of a mythological demon called Mahisashur at the hands of the mighty Goddess Durga Bhavani. Durga Bhavani in nine different forms is called Nava Durga Bhavani and is worshipped in different parts of the Kathmandu valley and across the country. A ritual namely Ghatasthapana is held on the first day of kick-starts the fifteen-day Dashain festival. On that day, the nine-night festival called Navaratri also starts. The Ghatasthapana falls on the bright forthright) of the Ashwin month of Bikram Sambat Calendar and the first 10 days of Dashain are called Navaratri or Nauratha because from that day on people go to nine different holy places to bathe at dawn and worship one Goddess at a time for the nine nights visiting a different site each night. In the evening devotees visit the same Goddess to worship at her town temple. This goes on until the ninth day of Dashain festival. Ghatasthapana is the day to sow Jamara. The name Ghatasthapana comes from the word "Ghada" and "sthapana". Ghada aka Kalash means ‘holy vessel’ and sthapana means ‘to establish’ or "to place". Therefore Ghatasthapana is a ritual of the placement of the auspicious Ghada for invoking the goddess and ushering in the festivity. Family altar of the author showing ritual items of Ghatasthapana.

Ghatasthapana Puja Bidhi (Ghatsthapana Ritual step by step)

The puja kotha (a shrine room) is cleaned and the Ghada (holy water vessel) symbolizing Goddess Durga is established. The shrine room where the Ghatashapana ritual is carried out is called a "Dashain Ghar" and is worshipped throughout the Nauratha. A clay or metal vessel is filled with holy water from nearby ponds or fivers and the outer wall of it is covered with cow dung (gobar) unto which Jau (barley seeds) are pasted to decorate it.  Sandalwood paste, flowers, Dubo (Bermuda grass), rice mixed with turmeric (akshyata), betel nut, five leaves of mangos, five types of gems, or a gold coin are added to the Ghada. An unpeeled coconut is placed on the mouth of Ghada while its neck is tied with a white and red piece of cloth. After decorating the Ghada, it is placed at the center of a sand-bed and the Jau and sesame seeds are planted in it. (the sand for the sand-bed is collected from the river banks). A photo of Goddess Durga or any other incarnation of Goddess Shakti is kept nearby the Ghada. The Ghatasthapana ritual starts at an auspicious time determined by a Pundit (priest). He chants a welcome mantra, requesting goddess Durga to bless Ghada and reside in it for the next 9 days i.e throughout Navaratri.  Food items, fruits, abir, kesari, and flowers are offered to the Ghada. He lights an oil wick soaked in sesame oil that burns unextinguished throughout the Nauratha and mantras dedicated to Lord Varun and goddess Durga are chanted. Some people plant seven types of grains viz barely, wheat, maize, sesame, mung beans, unhusked rice, and chickpeas while others just plant barley and sesame seeds. The Ghada has to be installed at a room corner that does not fall under the direct sun at any time of the day and has to worshipped every morning for the next nine days and watered too by one of the family members. Preferably male who has gone under the Bratadhan ritual. To carry out the ritual the member takes shower and changes into a clean white dhoti, and reads a chapter of Chandi Mantra (verses praising Goddess Durga in Chandi form) every morning and evening throughout Nauratha. These days any member of the family, even females carries out Ghada worshipping ritual. By the ninth day, the seeds will have sprouted and eventually grown into 5-6 inches tall Greenish-yellow grass which is called Jamara. Jamara grass is distributed as a blessing of Goddess Durga on the Tika day, the tenth day of Dashain. Many communities in Western Nepal perform the Ghatasthapana in different ways. They conduct tantric rituals to summon the omnipotent Goddess Mahalaxmi, a manifestation of all nine Goddesses, in their family prayer room called "Agam". For that they set two clay pots, one pot on top of another, and in them, they put small clay bowls filled with sand collected from a holy river bank. Each clay bowls have Jau seeds sown which germinate holy shoots "Jamara" in the nine-day period. The Jamara is harvested on the tenth day which is distributed as a blessing from Mahalaxmi. The ritual procession of Ghatasthapana with age-long rituals is carried out at Nasal Chowk, Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu since times immemorable. Gurju ko Paltan, a platoon of soldiers from Gorkha play ethnic tunes on traditional instruments called Naumati Baja on the Ghastasthapana day to mark the start of the Dashain Festival. Dashain or Bada Dashain is the most significant and longest festival of Nepalese.