DHANUSH

Dhanush is a bow. It is usually held by the left hand of the God or anybody for that matter. An arrow is then installed to be aimed and sent by the right hand. It appears with the Tantric deities such as Marichi, Kurukulla and so on. With the bow and the arrow, Marichi inflicts pain to the Maras and other  wicked beings. Like Bajra and Ghanta, bow and arrow symbolize method and wisdom as complementary components.

DHANKUTA

Headquarter of Dhankuta district in the Kosi zone, this place is famous for its various herbs, fruits and indigenous products. It is well-planned and beautiful town. 

Dhankuta is an important hill district of Koshi Zone situated in the Mahabharat range of mountains in Eastern Nepal. This district is also the Headquarters of the Kosi Zone. This historic place has varieties of cultural, ethnic and architectural heritages at its disposal. The predominant ethnic group of this district are the Rais and Limbus besides Bramhin, Chhetri, Newar and others. The total population of this district is 166,479.

DHAMMAPADA

Dhammapada is a holy text, a great collection of the preaching’s of Lord Buddha. This text literally means the words of ideal behaviours is full of the preachings Lord Buddha delivered in many places through his life-time. Dhammapada covers many kinds of situations, has words of wisdom and practical guidelines for all of humanity. It unfolds the mysteries of life, gives the true meaning of all human behaviour and advises in all the situations of life for understanding and leading a noble life. See Buddha, Gautam.  

DHADING

It is a mountainous district near Kathmandu headquartered in Dhadingbesi. It has a population of 338,658. The district is not well developed with little access. Huge areas of this district are still un-accessible by vehicle. Tamangs, Bahun, Chhetri, Newar and many other small ethnic groups live in this district. 

DEVKOTA, LUXMI PRASAD (1910-1960)

L.P. Devkota was a poet of extraordinary talent. He wrote innumerable poems on different aspects of life and nature in a superb, natural style of his own. Known as the emperor of poets, he was the gem of Nepalese literature and presumably one of the most astounding genius of the world. He could write volumes of poems in a matter of a few days. He could dictate more than 90 stanzas in an hour. A born poet, he never cared for money and material happiness and, thus, lived a very modest life. And though he was also the country’s minister fro education, he lived off meagre resources. Highly educated, learned and travelled Luxmi Prasad Devkota commanded a place of respect in every Nepali heart with his lofty ideals expressed in his poems, epics, essays and articles collected in more than a hundred books.

DEVI

Another name of Parbati or Durga. See Durga 

DEVELOPMENT REGIONS

Nepal is divided into five development regions for balanced development of the country. The five regions starting from East to West are named as Eastern Region, Middle Region, Western Region, Mid-Western Region and the Far Western Region. All those regions are home to a diverse landscape – from the low lands to the high Himalayas where diverse ethnic groups and people from varied levels of economic and social brackets or status live in. This division of the country into five divisions is aimed at integrating the regions and giving identity to each of them and also for balanced development of all the regions. 

DEMOCRACY DAY

Nepal observes its Democracy day on seventh day of Falgun or Phagun which starts someday in the middle of February. It was the historic day in the year 1950 when a democratic government came into existence in Nepal by ousting a century long family autocracy of the Rana’s. In response to the great revolution of the people, King Tribhuvan announced the interim democratic constitution on that day and since then, this day is observed as Democracy Day every year. See “Revolution of 1950” and   Shah Dev, Tribhuvan Veer Bikram. 

DEEPAWALI

See Tihar. An enjoyable festivals following Dasain. Deepavali, literally means the festival of lights, also known as Tihar, is celebrated every year throughout Nepal with pomp and grandeur. The celebration of this festival generally begins on the 13th day of the dark fortnight of Kartik around October and goes on until the second day of the following bright fortnight. This festival is celebrated continuously for five days. Because of this unbroken chain of celebration, it is known by the name of Panchak which denotes five days long. We may also call it the festival of nights. Because the first thing that comes to sight on thinking of Deepavali is the beginning of the night time. In other words, to derive any delight from the lights alone, one must await the arrival of night. 

Though this festival has many fascinating features, the most magnificent one amongst them is the decoration of the door-ways and windows with majestic marigolds and oil lamps every evening during the entire period of celebration. 

The making of the lamps in the very beginning of the festive evening has a spiritual significance. It represents the aspiration for enlightenment or knowledge whereas darkness stands for ignorance. The entire illumination work is indicative of intention to conquer Avidya or darkness by means of Vidya or light. In other words, this symbolizes liberation from ignorance for self-realization. In order to make it further clear, story from Hindu mythology may be referred to.  

Once there broke out a war between demons and deities. Narkasura, the head of the demons, fought furiously for his fame until he won the war. Puffed up with victory, the head demon designed himself as the overlord of the worlds. Cruel and corrupted as he was, he also started insulting the innocent wives of defeated Gods. This was a big shock to their helpless husbands. It was his command and wish that anything considered excellent taking from the materials down to any means of sensual pleasures be immediately offered to him or be made available for him. It is said that the slaves under his command were able to bring altogether 16000 princesses with blooming beauty and flaming youth for his fun. They were all kept under his cruel control. 

It is, however interesting to note that the four giant sentinels with five heads stationed by him in four cardinal directions to safeguard his frontiers had all been killed by Lord Krishna. They were Mura, Hayagriva, Nishumbha and Panchajanya.  

Narkasura was none other than a frightening figure of tyranny. It is said that a mention of his name alone was enough to scare the innocent people to death. People were so afraid of him that they didn’t even dare light up their houses in the evenings. According to this Puranic story, the celebration of this festival came into practice from the very day when Lord Krishna killed Narkasura.

DAXINKALI

This being the goddess Kali and situated in the southern side of Kathmandu, the name Daxinkali (southern Kali) is familiar. People go to worship Kali mainly on Tuesdays and Saturdays and generally sacrifice chicken or goat. After the name of goddess Daxinkali, the surrounding area itself is known by the same name. These days, it has become a popular picnic spot because of its beautiful natural environment suitable for hiking and resting purposes.