Kathmandu. Nepali society is celebrating Shrawan on Thursday by eating kheer. It is an ancient Nepali tradition to eat dahi chyura on Asad 15 and kheer on Shrawan 15 during the rainy season. Experts say that this tradition has been around since the kheer, which is made by adding spices and other herbs to milk during the rainy season, is good for health.
Kheer, called ‘payas’ in Sanskrit, is considered the best among sattvic foods and is also described in Vedic scriptures as an important item in the work of ancestors and gods, says Dr. Ramchandra Gautam, a religious scholar and former chairman of the Nepal Panchanga Nirikh Samiti. “Farming work is also completed in the villages during the month of Shrawan. Since there is more greenery, there is more grass. When there is more grass, cows and buffaloes also give more milk. When there is more milk, it is customary to invite friends and girlfriends to the house and eat kheer. This is also considered good for health,” he said.
Shrawan is the month of Lord Shiva. Since Shiva likes milk and dishes made with milk, sweets such as kheer are offered in a ritualistic manner. That is why the custom of eating kheer may have been prevalent in the middle of Shrawan, says religious scholar Gautam. He said that there is no scriptural word for it. Since the time of the sages, those invited to ancestral functions such as Shraddha were served Payas, or kheer. The practice of making Payas, or kheer, in cow’s milk on Shraddha days is still in force among the followers of the Vedic Sanatan religion.
Kheer is made from rice, saavdhana, sevai, corn, carrots, etc. Saavdhana is classified as a fruit. Similarly, since green corn is abundant in the month of Shrawan, it is customary to make corn kheer. The Nepali Comprehensive Dictionary defines kheer as ‘rice cooked in milk, rice, sugar, spices, etc. in milk, a delicious food, Payas, Tasmai’.
In Nepali society, it is a common practice to make curds and other delicacies on Asad 15, kheer on Shrawan 15, roasted corn on Bhadau 15, ghee sour on Poush 15, malpua on Magh 15 and invite friends and daughters to eat them and also eat them themselves.
The National Dairy Development Board has celebrated Shrawan 15 as Kheer Eating Day, or Kheer Day. (RSS)