The fourth day of Tihar festival, Gai puja: Kartik Shukla Pratipada and Yamapanchak, is celebrated today by worshiping cows and feeding them wonderful food.
Cows have been revered as sacred since ancient Vedic times. Cows are respected as cow mothers because their milk is equally nourishing as that of human mothers.
It is a religious belief that if cows are venerated and fed excellent food on this day, purity will always be attained from cows.
Cows are revered as cow mothers. The cow is revered as Nepal’s national animal.
There is a tradition in some parts of Nepal and in some communities to worship cows on Kartik Krishna Aunsi, although there is a classical notion that cows should be worshiped towards the conclusion of Aunsi and at the beginning of Pratipada.
There is also a religious belief that if the Rakshabandhan tied on the right hand is tied to the tail of a cow after cow worship, the cow will assist in crossing the river Vaitarani to paradise after death.
