Kukur Tihar being marked

File photo

KATHMANDU, NOV 02 -

Kukur Tihar , the festival of dogs, has been celebrated on the second day of Yamapanchak on Saturday.

Dog, the faithful friend of the mankind since ancient times, is honoured once a year on this day as one of the messengers of the god of death, Lord Yamaraj. People worshipped the dogs, garlanded it and offered delicious food to it today.

Dog, which is said to have accompanied Dharmaraj Yudhisthir on his journey to heaven in the mythological grand epic of Mahabharat, has a close relationship with mankind.

The five day Hindu-festival, Yamapanchak, more popular known as Tihar is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to not just the humans and the Gods, but also to the animals like crow, cow, oxen and dog, who maintain an intense relationship with the humans.

The Hindu Philosophy of worshiping the animals symbolises the co-existence of human beings with all other living things, who are also the children of the same almighty god or the mother nature.

Tihar, Hindu’s one of the greatest festivals, began with the observation of Kag- Tihar on Friday.