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TeejRishi Panchani

Teej or Haritalika is purely a women's festival. These two days follow in close succession and are the days of observing religious fast for women folks of Nepal. On the day of Teej all the women observe fasting for twenty-four hours for the longevity of their husbands' life and go to visit the shrine of Pashupati and offer worship to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati later in the evening. The Panchami is mainly devoted to cleaning the body by taking ritual bath in rivers for any sin or impurity the women folks may have committed during the past year. On this day women worship the seven Rishis in reminiscence of a high ascetic tradition of Hinduism and a notion of purity of descent in their lineage from the ancestral Rishis. All women whose husbands are alive are seen wearing red garments invariable and decked in all sorts of jewellery on these two days.