Biska Jatra

Origins and legends

The festival name stems historically from the Classical Newar term biskyata, joining words for banner and the solar new year. Local folklore offers another tale, linking the name to the phrase bi sika, meaning the slaying of serpents. In one legend, a Tantric practitioner turned into a python by mistake and died outside the city walls. Another popular story tells of a young prince who used a blessed sword from the goddess Bhadrakali to kill two deadly serpents crawling from a sleeping princess. In both folk memories, long poles were raised to display the slain creatures, establishing a custom of public celebration.

The chariots of Bhaktapur

In Bhaktapur, the focal ritual begins at Taumadhi square when the chariot of the deity Bhairava emerges from his temple. Residents divide into two rival teams from the upper and lower halves of town for a vigorous tug-of-war. Each side pulls heavy ropes, attempting to haul the wooden chariot into their quarter of the city. After the contest, the vehicle travels down to Gahiti for a two-day rest before moving onward to Lyasinkhel. At the end of the festival, crowds haul the chariot back to its resting place beside the towering five-tiered temple.

Poles and world banners

A central spectacle of the festival is the raising of a massive wooden pole, known as Yoh si Dyo, which stands around twenty-five metres tall in an open field. Attached to the top are a pair of long red cloths called world banners. Historians consider this display the oldest surviving element of the celebration. Marked with the Ashtamangala, the eight sacred symbols, these cloths carry wishes of luck, health, and prosperity for the town in the coming year. The tall post is carefully taken down on the eve of the new year.

Festivities in neighbouring towns

Communities once belonging to the old Kingdom of Bhaktapur celebrate the season with their own distinct customs. In Madhyapur Thimi, residents gather in Layeku carrying neighbourhood chariots, filling the air with beats from traditional Dhimay drums and throwing bright crimson simrik powder over friends and family. Meanwhile, the town of Bode hosts a rare tongue-piercing rite. A local volunteer has his tongue pierced with an iron spike and walks through the streets carrying burning torches on his shoulders to protect the settlement from misfortune.

How Biska Jatra is kept

The celebration opens in Bhaktapur with the rollout of the heavy wooden chariot of Bhairava, contested in a tug-of-war between upper and lower town neighbourhoods. Crowds help pull the chariot across specific public squares over several days. In the nearby ceremonial grounds, workers erect a twenty-five-metre wooden mast displaying sacred red banners. Surrounding towns mark the festival with their own traditions, including chariot parades, red powder throwing, Dhimay drum performances, and a dedicated tongue-piercing walk through the streets of Bode.

When and where

Biska Jatra takes place every year in mid-April. Unlike many Nepalese holidays governed by lunar cycles, this festival is determined by the Hindu solar calendar, marking the solar new year and the entry into the month of Vaisakhi.

The festival is celebrated in the historic city of Bhaktapur and nearby towns such as Thimi, Bode, and Nagadesh in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, as well as outlying settlements that once formed the Kingdom of Bhaktapur.

What Biska Jatra means

For the community, the festival embodies protection, renewal, and shared civic unity at the start of a new solar cycle. Raising the sacred world banners adorned with Ashtamangala motifs invites good fortune for the year ahead. At the same time, the spirited chariot contests and public rituals re-enact ancient legends of overcoming malevolent forces.

Days Biska Jatra is marked

Questions people ask about Biska Jatra

See also

DiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.HoliA spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Rama NavamiA Hindu spring festival marking the birth of Rama with prayer, fasting and processionsDhanterasThe first day of Diwali, a festival of lamps, health and wealth kept across India and Nepal.

Good reading and sources

• Bisket Jatra on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.