Nepal crowns new Kumari: 2-year-old girl becomes living goddess during Dashain festival

Nepal crowns new living goddess

A two-year-old girl was carried by her family from their Kathmandu home to a temple palace on Tuesday, as she was named Nepal’s new living goddess during the nation’s most significant Hindu festival.

At 2 years and 8 months, Aryatara Shakya was declared the new Kumari, or “virgin goddess,” succeeding her predecessor, who by tradition is regarded as mortal once she reaches puberty.

Kumaris are traditionally chosen from the Shakya clans of the Newar community, native to the Kathmandu Valley, and are venerated by both Hindus and Buddhists in the predominantly Hindu country.

Candidates, selected between ages 2 and 4, must possess flawless skin, hair, eyes and teeth, and show no fear of the dark.

During the Indra Jatra festival earlier this month, the former Kumari was wheeled around on a chariot pulled by devotees. The Kumari always wears red, pins up her hair in topknots and has a “third eye” painted on their forehead.

The weeklong Indra Jatra festival was the first of a series of celebrations in October including Dashain, the main festival, and Tihar or Diwali, the festival of lights.

Tuesday marked the eighth day of Dashain, a 15-day celebration of the victory of good over evil. Offices and schools were closed as people celebrated with their families.

Family, friends and devotees paraded the new Kumari through the streets of Kathmandu before entering the temple palace, which will be her home for several years.

Devotees lined up to touch the girls’ feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of respect among Hindus in the Himalayan nation, and offered her flowers and money. The new Kumari will bless devotees including the president Thursday.

“She was just my daughter yesterday, but today she is a goddess,” her father Ananta Shakya said, adding that there were already signs she would be the goddess before her birth. “My wife during pregnancy dreamed that she was a goddess and we knew she was going to be someone very special.”

The former Kumari Trishna Shakya, now aged 11 years old, left from a rear entrance on a palanquin carried by her family and supporters. She became the living goddess in 2017.

Families of the Shakya clan who qualify for the prestigious seat compete to have their daughters selected. The family of the Kumari gains an elevated position in society and within their own clan.

But Kumaris live a sequestered life. They have few selected playmates and are allowed outside only a few times a year for festivals.

Former Kumaris face difficulties adjusting to normal life, learning to do chores and attending regular schools. Nepalese folklore says men who marry a former Kumari will die young, which has resulted in many of the girls remaining unmarried.

Over the past few years, there have been many changes in tradition and the Kumari is now allowed to receive an education from private tutors inside the temple palace and even have a television set.

The government also offers retired Kumaris a small monthly pension of about $110, which is slightly above the minimum wage fixed by the government.