Journeys and Jottings

Issue 58 - Being blessed by the "Darshan" of Kumari - the Divine Living Goddess of Nepal

Hello, I am starting this issue of Journeys and Jottings with a small audio story from Nepal. Narayan my guide in Nepal narrates the legend of the Kumari - the Divine Living Goddess of Nepal. A few years ago, I was in Kathmandu where I was blessed to get a glimpse of the deified Kumari.

It is a packed house. The entire open courtyard is filled with a motley of people, chattering away in different languages. A group of girls walk in, wearing colourful and traditional attire, and pose for the tourists. It is about 4.30  pm in Kathmandu, which is about 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time and I am in the Kumari Ghar, a temple that houses the divine living goddess called Kumari. I am waiting eagerly for a teeny weeny glimpse and we are made to believe that this darshan may happen before 5 pm. 

It is not often that the little child goddess, referred to as the Kumari blesses her audience with a glimpse. “You have to be very lucky,” says my guide Narayan. It starts drizzling but the rains are very inconsistent. I am lost in the rich wooden sculptures and pillars that adorn the courtyard. A couple of massive sculptures of lions greet us at the entrance. Standing on Durbar Square, the restored three-story brick building was originally built in the 18th century by a king, Jaya Prakash Malla for the Kumari. 

A group of girls dressed in colorful attire walk in. They have just finished performing at the Durbar Square for a local folk festival. We take a few photographs with them but are strictly forbidden to photograph the Kumari.

However, there is no sign of her. A hush falls. All eyes are glued to the open window above us. We suddenly see a face at the window, a flash of brilliance. This is the moment that we are all waiting for and yet it is all over within seconds.

An overtly bright cherubic face, with large beaming eyes lined with kajal, peeps out and scans the audience. Her eyes are sharp and they bore right into mine and then she vanishes in a jiffy. For a moment I stand there transfixed, mesmerized by the stare of this child, barely around four years old. And then it slowly dawns on me - I have just been blessed by the “darshan” - the divine sight of a unique living goddess. 

There are over 11 Kumaris all over Nepal but the Kathmandu Kumari is considered the Raj Kumari. Narayan explains that the child goddess is believed to be a reincarnation of Goddess Taleju Bhavani, the patron deity of the many kingdoms of Nepal. One of them is the Malla Dynasty and the legend of Kumari is associated with these kings.

There are many myths but the most popular story speaks of a king who used to play dice with Taleju, the goddess every night and discuss the affairs of the state. But one night he made sexual advances towards her. The angry goddess left and abandoned the king and his state. He begged for her forgiveness and she agreed to come in the form of a child but insisted that he had to look for her in the Buddhist Shakya clan.

It is believed that the Goddess resides in the child only until she matures. She becomes a mortal again and then another Kumari is selected. There is a rigorous process of selection as the designated Kumari is believed to have over 32 signs of divinity. 

Pic Courtesy - A Soul Window

While I was very lucky to see her, we weren’t allowed to take her photograph. However, my friend and fellow travel blogger, Abhinav who blogs at ASoulWindow had visited Nepal during the Indra Jantra and he got an opportunity to see and photograph the Living Goddess - Matina Shakya. He shared a couple of photographs from his blog, where you can read in detail about the Kumari Festival.

However the Kumari that granted me a “darshan” was Trishna Shakya, the current royal Kumari who succeeded Matina Shakya in 2017, who went back to school and continued her studies.

Pic Courtesy - A Soul Window

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