In a ceremony steeped in centuries-old tradition, a two-year-old girl named Aryatara Shakya has been formally anointed as the new Royal Kumari, or Living Goddess, of Kathmandu.
Aryatara, aged two years and eight months, was carried from her family home to the Kumari Ghar (Living Goddess Palace) in Kathmandu on Tuesday, the eighth day of the country’s most significant Hindu festival, Dashain. She succeeds the outgoing Kumari, 11-year-old Trishna Shakya, who stepped down upon reaching puberty, as is the custom.
The new Kumari, chosen from the Shakya clan of the Newar community indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley, is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists as the living embodiment of the Hindu goddess Taleju (Durga). Her selection followed a stringent process to ensure she met the ancient criteria, including having unblemished skin and a lack of fear.
“She was just my daughter yesterday, but today she is a goddess,” said an emotional Ananta Shakya, the new Kumari’s father.
Aryatara Shakya will now reside in the palace and will be seen in public only during certain religious festivals, where she is paraded on a chariot pulled by devotees. She is scheduled to bless devotees, including the President, later this week.
While the tradition has faced scrutiny from child rights advocates, recent changes allow the Kumari to receive a formal education within the palace. The outgoing Kumari, Trishna Shakya, was seen departing the palace in a palanquin carried by her family, marking her return to a mortal life.
