Nepali Child Goddesses Remain God Only Till Their First Period
They vows to never put their feet on the ground.
While there seems to be more than one theory on the origin of the Kumaris of the Taleju Bhawani Temple, the most authentic is about the fierce Hindu goddess Durga and the King Malla of Nepal. Durga used to visit Malla every night to play dice. The legend often speaks about how she was often dressed up as Taleju Bhawani, the royal goddess of the Malla Dynasty of Nepal.
The Story Of The King And The Goddess
Durga, the goddess of power and strength had her conditions; no one was allowed to know about their meetups. Unfortunately, this interaction between the goddess and the king came to an end when Durga caught the queen spying on them while they played dice in the Taleju temple.
Some stories tell that it was the king who made inappropriate advances toward Durga which made her leave out of pure anger.
The Incarnation Of The Goddess
Heartbroken at Durga’s sudden departure, the king felt ridden of her divine presence and wished to meet her again. He dreamt about her after a few days when she ordered him to find a child from the Shakya caste.
As informed by the goddess, the king went out in search of a young girl, inside whom Durga promised to reside so that he could worship her again like he used to. Hence, the Kumari, or the child goddesses of Nepal were born.
The Young Girls Of Nepal And Their Title Of The ‘Living Goddess’
Ever since the event of Malla and Durga, little girls are selected by priests of the Taleju Bhawani temple in the process of incarnating their goddess Durga in them.
The Buddhists and Hindus, both believe in the legend of the child goddesses and eagerly visit the Taleju Bhawani temple to worship the goddesses. The goddesses are more commonly referred to as the ‘Living Goddess’ as they essentially contain Durga’s presence who protects the people from evil and brings prosperity to them.
A 5 year old’s Presentation To Becoming A Living Goddess
Although very divine and religious, the process that a young girl goes through to become a child goddess is still strange to many. Kumari which means a ‘virgin princess’ is the assigned name to these young girls as soon as they pass the entire process of becoming a child goddess. These young girls are brought by their parents to the Taleju temple at the young age of 4 or 5 as per the conditions.
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This is exactly what Durga implied a girl’s age to be when she asked the king to find a ‘child’. The girl’s audition for the role by presenting themselves, going through different assignments that test their patience, beauty, and most of all their ability to stay calm.
The list of requirements contains 32 characteristics that expect three rather controversial features from little girls; A neck like a conch shell, a body like a banyan tree, eyelashes like a cow, thighs like a deer, chest like a lion, and a voice soft and clear as a duck.
Tranquility: The Most Required Feature To Become Divine
The most essential feature of a Kumari is her ability to stay calm. While little kids are not commonly judged for their playful and mischievous nature, Kumaris are expected to be as tranquil as possible.
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No signs of excitement, happiness, sadness, or grief are to be shown at any time while they are Kumari. A former Kumari, Chandra Bajracharya recalls her experience of the selection process.
She was just five years old when she and seven other girls alongside her, were handed a handful of grains to test their reaction to it. The rest of the girls either started fiddling or crying while Chanira stayed absolutely rigid in her place with a slight red color taking over her face.
Despite Being A Goddess, You Still Have To Abide By Some Rules
The Kumaris are also only allowed to talk to their own family members. But this will seem fine to you once you get to know that the people believe that a person as divine as the Living Goddess should never touch the ground.
Hence, a young girl never walks throughout her period of serving as a Kumari. She is always lifted up by an elder, or her parents when she is to be commuted from one place to another.
The Living Goddess is also known to never really travel very far from the Kumari Ghar. However, in 2007, mostly for awareness purposes, a Kumari named Sajani Shakya traveled to the US. There she attended the premiere of a documentary on the Kumaris and also visited schools to educate children about her rather uncommon life.
It is known that, unlike other Kumaris, Sajani Shakya availed of more privileges such as living with her family and traveling.
But Being A Kumari Brings Its Own Perks Too
As observed from all the information above, it’s fair to say that the Kumaris receive an amplified amount of respect in their lives. Since they belong to a divine being, they are worshiped and are relied upon for predictions of evil times.
Therefore, they receive loads of perks in their lives. They are spoiled as much as possible, with visitors and worshippers bringing the goddesses chocolates and other sweet confectioneries.
Their lives, although having a strange purpose, are still precious to them and so far, no Kumaris has had any complaint regarding her time as a living goddess.
The End: Leaving The Throne As A Kumari
As soon as a girl reaches puberty, she is asked to leave her life as a Kumari and join the common human beings in their rigorous fast-paced lives in the world.
Priests start the selection process for a new living goddess with the concern that a living goddess should never menstruate because that is considered undivine for the holy goddess Durga.
The Kumari’s royal life filled with peace and respect ends. She is now expected to be something entirely different than what she was taught to be for at least 8 years of her life. The end also brings forth a separate ritual that the Kumari has to go through for the last time.
For twelve days the Kumari stays locked inside a room with no visits from any men while women are allowed to come in and assist her. By the end of the twelfth day, the Kumari is now transformed into a mortal young girl and she steps out to see what the actual world has to offer and expect of her.
Tackling Real-World Challenges As A Former Kumari
The real world brings a set of challenges, no doubt. The first of these challenges is to walk. Since as a Kumari she never walked and was only lifted up to go from one place to another, she has trouble standing up without any assistance.
Chanira Bajracharya reports that her legs felt wobbly when she tried to walk and had to rely upon her parents for help. Social interaction is also a big issue. As a Kumari, a girl is treated exactly how a goddess would be.
People bow down to her, offer her money, sweets, and sometimes alcohol, and look at her with loving eyes. Preeti Shakya, a former Kumari, talks about the time when she was scolded on numerous occasions by her teachers at school because she was a bit weak in her studies. Her friends were intimidated by her and refused to play with her.
In Closing — Strong Girls Embodying Powerful Durga
Divinity is indeed the presence of a holy being. Therefore, people who are associated with the gods tend to adjust more quickly to the harsh ways of the world than anyone else.
Therefore, while their lives tend to get a bit harder in the mortal world, former Kumaris still miss their time when they were worshiped and felt the presence of Durga who calmed them down during any time of misery.
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