Sri Lanka Maha Vihara, Lumbini

A Pictorial Record

5th and 6th November 2022

By Dr. Pooja Kalita and Prof. Sasanka Perera

Katina or Kathina Ceremony is the main Buddhist calendar ritual in the Theravada tradition. It marks the end of the rainy season. During the rainy season, or vasa, monks were conventionally expected to retreat to the forest or to their temples, take a break from their mendicant lifestyle and refuge from the rain, and concentrate on meditation and learning. The present Katina ceremony is a continuation of this old tradition, with numerous variations and additions over time in different places.

The Sri Lankan interpretation in Lumbini, Nepal, incorporates recognizable Sri Lankan traditions but also involves innovations based on cultural and geo-physical conditions in Lumbini.

What is presented here is not an analysis of the ceremony or its relevance to placemaking or heritage dynamics, but a chronological pictorial recording of what exactly happened as the ceremony got underway on 5th and 6th November 2022.

Click the image below (or here) to view the pictorial record of the Katina robe offering ceremony.