Bala Chaturdasi

It is another festival to appease the souls of the dead of any wrong committed against them while they were still alive. The rites of this Chaturdasi are in honor of Bala, a burning ghat laborer who accidentally ate a piece of burnt flesh and became a demon addicted to cannibalism. Several different stories narrate the tale but the motif common to all is that Bala was tricked by a gesture friendship and killed. His vanquisher then began the custom of scattering grains for the dead this day, to atone for the fatal subterfuge. The mela begins at dusk the evening, prior, with devotees assembling in the vicinity of Pashupatinath for all night vigils. Ceremonies and ritual bathing begin at dawn, followed by a long, 2-3 hour procession through a rough course over which the participants scatter grains. This continues until a horn sounds the termination in the evening.

Festival held in: Kartik Nepali Month/Middle of November 
Places to Observe this festival: Pashupatinath and other Shiva Temples