What is Mha Puja?
The New Year's Day of Nepal Samvat — Kartika Sukla Pratipada — coincides with a deeply personal family celebration among the Newars, both Buddhist and Hindu, known as Mha Puja (literally, body-worship or self-worship).
Although the puja is evidently inspired by the Puranas and Tantras, it is a uniquely Newari festival — quite different both in form and content from the Hindu festival of Govardhan Puja commonly observed by non-Newars in Nepal. Mha Puja is a celebration of the self, of life, of the divine that resides within every human being.
The Sacred Mandala
The centrepiece of Mha Puja is the mandala — a geometric circle drawn on the floor for each family member. It is composed of a series of concentric circles, each drawn with a different sacred material:
The circles are drawn successively with water, oil, rice, paddy, and yellow and red powders. At the very centre sits the Jajamka — a compact group of five circles, each covered by paddy and rice, decorated with flowers and the ritual thread.
Each person sits before their own mandala throughout the ceremony, receiving the blessings of the eldest woman of the household.
The Ritual — Step by Step
The Family Gathers
All members of a Newar family assemble together in the main room of the house, sitting in a row. Irrespective of age, gender, or social position, every member of the household participates — from the youngest child to the eldest grandparent.
Drawing the Personal Mandala
A fully decorated mandala is drawn on the floor in front of each family member. The mandala consists of concentric circles drawn in turn using water, oil, rice, paddy, and yellow and red powders — each layer representing a different element of life and the cosmos.
The Jajamka — Centre of the Mandala
At the centre of each mandala, a compact group of five circles is drawn — known as the Jajamka. Each of the five circles is covered with paddy and rice, decorated with flowers and the sacred ritual thread. The Jajamka represents the five elements and the divine within.
Self-Worship by the Eldest Woman
The eldest woman of the family performs the puja for every member in turn. She worships each person as a divine being — applying tika, offering flowers, and performing the sacred rituals. This act of recognising divinity in every family member is the spiritual core of Mha Puja.
The Khelu-ita — The Sacred Flame
Each family member is offered a burning oil-fed wick known as Khelu-ita. Originally, the wick measured equal to the length (dhul) of a human face (khe) — a deeply personal measurement symbolising the individual life-force being honoured.
The Auspicious Sagun
Finally, the auspicious Sagun is offered to each family member. This sacred offering consists of six ritual items — the five Makaras plus the whole boiled-and-fried egg — each carrying deep symbolic meaning in Newari tantric tradition.
The Blessing of Long Life
The eldest woman of the family wishes each member a long and prosperous life — a blessing symbolised by the gift of walnuts, jackfruit, common citron, and above all Gwae Swan — the long-lasting, nut-shaped, velvety flower that is the most cherished symbol of longevity in Newari culture.
The Six Sacred Sagun
The Sagun offering consists of the five ritual Makaras of tantric tradition plus the whole egg — each item carrying layers of spiritual and cultural symbolism:
Boiled and fried — symbolising wholeness, the origin of life, and the unbroken cycle of existence
Fish — the first Makara, representing fluidity, adaptability, and abundance from the rivers
Ritual meat — representing strength, the earthly body, and the sustenance of life
Ritual wine — representing the spirit, joy, and the divine intoxication of devotion
Fried ginger — representing the hand gesture of offering, and warmth of the sacred body
Bean cake — the final Makara, representing the union of opposites and completeness of the offering
The Gift of Long Life — Gwae Swan
After the Sagun, the eldest woman presents each family member with a special collection of offerings that symbolise longevity and prosperity. These gifts carry deep cultural meaning rooted in generations of Newari tradition:
Symbolising the long-lived and hardy nature of the walnut tree — wishing the recipient the same enduring strength and resilience throughout their life.
The jackfruit tree is one of the longest-lived fruit trees in South Asia, bearing fruit for over a century — a symbol of abundance that persists through generations.
The citron's thick, fragrant skin and remarkable keeping qualities make it a symbol of preserved life and vitality — offered as a wish for enduring health.
The most cherished of all the Mha Puja offerings — Gwae Swan is a long-lasting, nut-shaped, velvety flower that retains its form for months or even years after being plucked. It is the supreme symbol of longevity and the wish for a life as enduring as the flower itself.
Mha Puja & Nepal Sambat New Year
Mha Puja falls on the first day of the Nepal Sambat lunar year — Kartika Sukla Pratipada — which corresponds to the day after the Hindu festival of Deepawali (Tihar/Diwali). While the rest of Nepal celebrates Tihar's last day with Bhai Tika, Newar families simultaneously observe Mha Puja.
This convergence of festivals makes this period one of the most sacred and celebrated times in the Newari calendar. Mha Puja is observed not only in the Kathmandu Valley but by Newar communities worldwide — from India and Tibet to diaspora communities across the globe.
Since the reinstatement of Nepal Sambat as the national calendar in 2007, Mha Puja has gained wider public recognition as Nepal's official New Year's Day celebration — a moment when the ancient and the contemporary meet in the act of self-worship.