The living Goddess of Nepal : the Kumari
Today our world is digitized ,smartised.We live in that modern world where science is the God. I'm one of the pupils of this powerful God. But there are countries where Gods are humans !
Yes ,you heard it right-Gods are human beings! Nepal is a beautiful country.The mighty Himalayas act as crown to this small nation. It is a holy land for both the followers of Hinduism & Buddhism. It is a land of varied cultures. In fact, it is a melting point. Nepalese are the strong followers of their ancient legends. They strongly believe in many traditions including that of the Kumari's.The Kumari is believed to be the living incarnation of Goddess Durga/Taleju.The prepubescent Nepali girl will be worshiped as Kumari.The word Kumari actually refers to a virgin.The Kumari council in Nepal follows some rules & regulations while selecting the Kumari such as presence of 20 unbroken teeth,black hair &black eyes,the child must be fearless etc.The final test is on Kalratri /black night.On this night,the girl must spend whole night with slaughtered heads of animals without any fear ! Tough in deed !!
Once the menstruation cycle begins,the girl will not be worshiped as a Kumari since it is believed that the Goddess Taleju leaves her body at this stage and then the hunt for another Kumari begins.The people of Nepal strongly believe in the legend of Kumari. But since the world is growing every day , the rules are also changing according to the current situation of Nepal.The Kumari is allowed to continue her studies but through computer with a guide of council's choice.A pension of minimum of 50₹ is given to the Kumari as a compensation , after puberty.Nepal is really interesting!
The picture shown above is that of current Kumari - Samita Bajracharya
Today our world is digitized ,smartised.We live in that modern world where science is the God. I'm one of the pupils of this powerful God. But there are countries where Gods are humans !
Yes ,you heard it right-Gods are human beings! Nepal is a beautiful country.The mighty Himalayas act as crown to this small nation. It is a holy land for both the followers of Hinduism & Buddhism. It is a land of varied cultures. In fact, it is a melting point. Nepalese are the strong followers of their ancient legends. They strongly believe in many traditions including that of the Kumari's.The Kumari is believed to be the living incarnation of Goddess Durga/Taleju.The prepubescent Nepali girl will be worshiped as Kumari.The word Kumari actually refers to a virgin.The Kumari council in Nepal follows some rules & regulations while selecting the Kumari such as presence of 20 unbroken teeth,black hair &black eyes,the child must be fearless etc.The final test is on Kalratri /black night.On this night,the girl must spend whole night with slaughtered heads of animals without any fear ! Tough in deed !!
Once the menstruation cycle begins,the girl will not be worshiped as a Kumari since it is believed that the Goddess Taleju leaves her body at this stage and then the hunt for another Kumari begins.The people of Nepal strongly believe in the legend of Kumari. But since the world is growing every day , the rules are also changing according to the current situation of Nepal.The Kumari is allowed to continue her studies but through computer with a guide of council's choice.A pension of minimum of 50₹ is given to the Kumari as a compensation , after puberty.Nepal is really interesting!
The picture shown above is that of current Kumari - Samita Bajracharya
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