Naga Baba and other saints who came to visit Pashupatinath on the occasion of Mahashivaratri will be bid farewell today with alms.

The Guthi Sansthan and the Pashupati Area Development Fund have a tradition of bidding farewell to the saints who come to Pashupati on the day of Falgun Krishna Ekadashi on the day of Falgun Krishna Aunsi. 

Deepak Bahadur Pandey, former deputy administrator of the Sansthan and coordinator of the farewell of the saints many times, said that this tradition began in 1831 BS when Jagat Jung, the eldest son of Janga Bahadur, established the Jagananda Prakasheshwar Guthi.

The Sansthan has allocated a budget of about Rs 3 million for the farewell. Red, blue, white, yellow and green colored cards have been distributed to the Naga Babas and other saints on the day of their arrival. Pandey informed that it is a tradition of giving dakshina to the saints who have been distributed cards according to their level. The Sansthan has stated that the dakshina has been increased so that Naga Babas and saints who come from outside Nepal can reach the nearest border. 

More than four thousand saints have come from outside Nepal to stay at Pashupati's Gorakhnath Math, Ramchandra Temple beyond Aryaghat, Bhasmeshwor Akhara, Nirmala Akhara and various places in the Pashupati complex. Shreedhar Sapkota, treasurer of the Pashupati Area Development Fund, which has saints of different sects in each place, gave the information.

'Earlier, Naga Baba and saints were given food at Pashupati and bid farewell with dakshina from Kalmochanghat in Thapathali. Since all those killed during the Kot festival were cremated at Kalmochanghat, many saints were bid farewell from here on Shivaratri with the belief that the dead souls would find peace. Now that tradition has gone. Currently, Naga Baba and saints are being bid farewell from the west main gate of Pashupati,' he said.

Like Pashupati, the Naga Babas and Sadhusants who have come to Thapathali Kalmochanghat on the occasion of Mahashivaratri, Bairagi Akhara, Udasi Akhara, Sanyasi Akhara and Nath Akhara, will also be bid farewell with dakshina today, the Sansthan has stated. These Sadhusants will be bid farewell from Kalmochanghat. 

After the transparent and worship management regulations implemented at Pashupatinath Temple on Chaitra 26, 2068, the Pashupati Area Development Fund also started bidding farewell to Naga Babas and Sadhusants by giving dakshina and providing food from Mahashivaratri of 2069 BS. 

'The fund is preparing to give dakshina from 101 to 5,000,' said Shila Pant, member of the board of directors of the fund and coordinator of the Sadhusant Service and Religious Program Management Sub-committee. 'The fund will give dakshina to 5,012 sadhus, 1,012 sadhus, 7011 sadhus, 5011 sadhus, 301130 sadhus, 2010 jogis and everyone who stands in line.' 

The fund has allocated a budget of eight lakh rupees for dakshina to the sadhus. The fund has prepared to bid farewell to the sadhus by wearing Rudraksha offered at Pashupatinath throughout the year along with the dakshina. According to Pandey, the deputy administrator of the organization, 50,000 kilos of firewood worth seven lakh rupees have been purchased to burn incense inside the Pashupatinath temple for five days and outside for four days for the Naga Babas and sadhus who came on Mahashivratri.