Nepalese Hindu devotees worship during the Madhav Narayan festival at Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, 11 February 2021.
The Madhav Narayan festival is a full month-long event devoted to religious fasting, holy bathing, and the study of the Swasthani book, which is dedicated to the God Shiva and Goddess Swastania.
A chapter of the story is read each evening by priests or householders to the gathered family.
About 50 married women and dozens of male devotees take a month-long fast for a better life and peace in the country at various temples.
Unmarried women take the fast to attract a suitable husband and married women take the fast in hopes of improving their families’ prosperity.
EPA-EFE/NARENDRA SHRESTHA
