The Guna festival, a significant event for Buddhists celebrated over a month, attracted nearly 200,000 devotees to Swyambhu this year. The festival, which began on Ashar 21 (July 5), coincides with the first day of the waxing moon in the month of Shrawan and lasts for an entire month.
During the festival, it is customary for devotees to visit the Swyambhu Maha Chaitya early in the morning, accompanied by musical instruments, and perform a ritual circumambulation around the site. The tenth month of the Buddhist calendar, during which Guna falls, is considered sacred as it is believed to be the time when Buddha attained enlightenment and spread his teachings for the welfare of humanity.
After visiting Swyambhu, devotees also traditionally circumambulate other nearby holy sites such as Shobha Bhagwati and Bijeshwori. The festival is deeply rooted in the belief that visiting these sites and paying homage to deities like Matsyendranath, a symbol of compassion, accumulates merit for the devotees.
The Swyambhu Management and Conservation Committee has taken measures to manage the large crowds, including organizing traffic and lighting around the world heritage site and the surrounding monasteries. Ashok Buddhacharya, the General Secretary of the Committee, mentioned that during the festival, Buddha’s life and teachings are narrated in the form of stories, which draws a significant number of devotees.
The Committee anticipates that around 500,000 devotees from various Buddhist traditions—Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana—will visit the site over the month, with many coming from both national and international locations.
Swyambhu, which means “self-created” in Sanskrit, is a revered site where it is believed that the Vipassī Buddha once came to offer prayers. It holds a special place in the hearts of all Buddhist devotees, regardless of their specific tradition, as a site for various religious activities and expressions of faith.
