Khayer Lake draws 7,000 pilgrims on Janai Purnima

By Thakur Prasad Acharya Beni, Aug. 15: There is a popular belief that one's wish will be fulfilled after visiting the popular religious site  Khayer Bharani located in Khayer Khola in Annapurna Rural Municipality-5 of Myagdi district.  Hundreds of people visited Khayer Bharani on the day of Janai Purnima on Friday with a hope of getting  their wishes fulfilled.

Khayer Lake lies at an altitude of about 4,700 meters above sea level and the temple of Khayer Bharani Devi stands near the pond.   Khayer Khola is religiously and naturally famous. It is located at the foot of the Annapurna mountain range and can be reached in a three-day walk from Beni, the district headquarters of Myagdi district. 

It is believed that if one visits Khayer Bharani on the day of Janai Purnima, his wishes will come true. 

Raju Pun, patron of Khayer Bharani Temple and Area Conservation Trust, informed that about 7,000 devotees visited Khayer Bharani on Friday. The devotees from different districts including Myagdi, Parbat, Baglung, Kaski and Kathmandu visited the pious place this year. The Trust had  made all the arrangements for religious worship.

He said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of devotees decreased for two years and a large number of devotees visited this year. The Trust had  arranged accommodation for the devotees and tourists who came to pay homage to Khayer Bharani  this time.

I did not have children 10 years ago, I came here to ask for a blessing to have a child, Nirmala Bhandari said. “I have come here again to worship Khayer Bharani after my wish was fulfilled.” There is a custom to return to the place after one’s wishes are  fulfilled.

Only one wish should be made  in one visit. There is a popular belief that if you ask for more than one  boon at once, you will get none. Some ask for children, some for wealth, some for happiness, peace, good health, and others for foreign employment, and recruitment in the army. If someone tells the priest that he wants to find a  bridegroom, the priest shouts and asks for the bridegroom. 

There is a traditional method of seeing Bharani.  On the day of Janai Purnima, they offer Dhwoja (flag), Akshata (rice mixed with  red colour and curd), flowers, jewelry, gold, silver, coconut and goat kids. This year, 220 kids were sacrificed, the Trust said.

Devotees who  stop at Khayer Khola should start their journey to the area at 3 o'clock the next morning.  One should purify himself/herself at Dhoti Khola located below Khayer Khola. One should take off the worn clothes and put on new or clean clothes and cross the Dhoti Khola. The uphill journey with hundreds of devotees with a sight of Mt. Annapurna is pleasing. The residents of Paudwar have constructed footsteps and pavements  in difficult places to make the journey of  the pilgrims easier.

Khayer area is beautiful in terms of nature. Dhaulagiri and Annapurna snow range can be seen from Khayer area. The lake spreads in area of  about 10,000 square metres . This lake never dries up, however no water source can be seen. At the edge of the Lake, there is a place of Khayer Bharani. The temple was rebuilt in 2013.

The strange rock found in the lake has been replaced inside the tank as a symbol of Bharani.  Bimal Rijal of Beni, who came for the first time to walk in the Khayer area, narrated his experience that the area looks like paradise. 

"Even though it is a difficult journey, one forgets all the sorrow and fatigue once he arrives in this beautiful  place,” Rijal said.