Click play above to listen to our latest podcast featuring Gautama Vajracharya from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in a lecture on the ceremonial purposes of the lunar calendar, entitled “Newar Ritual Calendar — New Methodology, New Discovery.” This lecture was given as part of our Nepal Conference on Hinduism in Nepal: The Ritual Dimension, led by Professor Michael Witzel, Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University.
Ritual has played a major role in Hindu societies, from the Vedas to modern times, and it has been particularly prominent in Nepalese society. It accompanies individuals from morning until night, from birth to death, and it shapes the customs of society throughout the year.