One of the most important festivals, Kukur Tihar (or dog festival) is celebrated annually in Nepal on Choti Diwali. It is marked on the second day of the five day festival of Diwali.
Kukur Tihar is marked to honor the furry friends and is celebrated in a grand way in Nepal. The people of the Hindu community worship the animal and commemorates the bond between humans and dogs.
At the festival, the strays and pets are treated well with garlands in order to show them respect. The dogs are also adorned with red tika or tilak, with kumkum or gulaal along with rice and yogurt, very similar to any tilak ritual in Hindu tradition. After the puja, the dogs are given special treats and a lot of food to eat, which includes milk, eggs, meat, high-quality dog food or anything that one likes.
Here’s why dogs are worshipped on this day:
As per the Hindu mythology, Bhairava, an avatar of Lord Shiva has a dog as his vahana (vehicle) known as Shvan. Yamraj or the God of Death also has two watchdogs, who guards the gates of Narak (hell). Owing to this belief, the festival is observed on this day that is also known as Naraka Chaturdashi or Bhoot Chaturdashi.
It is also believed that dogs can sense danger especially death and are worshipped on this day.
Another reason associated with it is that dogs also have special mention in Mahabharta. At the end of the epic, when the Pandavas started their final voyage, a dog followed them on their journey towards the Swarga. While in the journey, Yudhishtir lost all his brothers and wife, however, the dog continued with him till the gates of heaven. In the religious text, it is said that he refused to enter heaven without the dog. It is believed that it was Yama himself who disguised as a dog and followed him throughout the journey.
This year the festival will be observed between October 25-29. As Choti Diwali falls on October 26, so Kukur Tihar or the dog festival will be marked on that day in Nepal.
World Rabies Day 2019: Date, theme and significance of the day dedicated to zoonotic disease
