Kumari

Kumari, or Kumari Devi is a living Buddhist goddess in Nepal. Kumari means literally virgin in Nepali. A Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the Nepalese Newari community. Although the Kumari is Buddhist, she is revered and worshipped by the country's Buddhists and Hindus alike.

While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu. The selection process for her is especially rigourous, and she lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The current Royal Kumari, Preeti Shakya was installed on 10 July, 2001 at the age of four.

A Kumari is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury are also causes for her to revert to common status.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Selection Process 3 Life of the Royal Kumari 4 Former Kumaris 4.1 Related topics 4.2 References 4.3 External links

History

Whilst the veneration of a living Kumari in Nepal is relatively recent, dating only from the 17th century, the tradition of Kumari-Puja, or virgin worship, has been around for much longer. There is evidence of virgin worship taking place in India for more than 2,600 years. It appears to have taken hold in Nepal in the 6th century AD. There is written evidence describing the selection, ornamentation and worship of the Kumari dating from the 13th century.

There are several legends circulating about how the current cult of the Kumari began. Most of the legends, however, lead back to King Jayaprakash Malla, the last Nepalese king of the Malla Dynasty. According to the most popular legend, a red serpent approaches the King's chambers late one night as he plays tripasa a dice game with the goddess Taleju. The King begins to admire the surpassing beauty of Taleju, the patroness of his royal lineage, realizing that her beauty surpasses that of his own wife. His amorous thoughts, however, are found out as the goddess is able to read his thoughts.

Standing abruptly, Taleju rebukes the king for his lustful thoughts and declares that if he is ever to see her again, it will be in the form of a young girl from a low caste. Hoping to make amends with his patroness, the King left the palace in search of the young girl who was possessed by Taleju's spirit. Even today, a mother's dream of a red serpent is believed to portend the elevation of her daughter to the position of Royal Kumari. And each year, the Nepalese King seeks the blessing of the Royal Kumari at the festival of Indra Jatra.

A variation of this and other legends names King Gunkam Dev, a 12th century ancestor of King Jayaprakash Malla as the main character rather than Jayaprakash Malla.

Another legend of the origins of the cult of the Kumari is more disturbing. According to this legend, King Jayaprakash Malla had intercourse with a pre-pubescent girl who later died as a result. The King, overcome with guilt, began having dreams that told him that he must begin to search for each young incarnation of Taleju. To make penance for his actions, he must then worship the Kumari and ask for her blessing each year.

A third variation of the legend says that during the reign of King Jayaprakash Malla, a young girl was banished from the city because it was feared that she was possessed by the goddess Durga. When the Queen learned of the young girl's fate, she became enraged and insisted that the King fetch the girl and install her as the living incarnation of Durga.

Selection Process

Once Taleju has left the sitting Kumari, there is a frenzy of activity to find her successor. Some have compared the selection process to the process used in nearby Tibet to find the Dalai Lama or the Panchen Lama. The selection process is conducted by five senior Buddhist Vajracharya priests, the Panch Buddha, the Bada Guruju or Chief Royal Priest, Achajau the priest of Taleju and the royal astrologer . The King and other religious leaders that might know of eligible candidates are also informed that a search is underway.

Eligible girls are Buddhists from the Newar Shakya caste of silver and goldsmiths. She must be in excellent health, never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the battis lakshanas, or 'thirty-two perfections' of a goddess. Some of these are poetically listed as such:

   * A neck like a conch shell

   * A body like a banyan tree

   * Eyelashes like a cow

   * Thighs like a deer

   * Chest like a lion

   * Voice soft and clear as a duck's

The girl is also observed for signs of serenity and fearlessness (after all, she is to be the vessel of the fierce goddess Durga) and her horoscope is examined to ensure that it is complementary to the King's. It is important that there not be any conflicts as she must confirm the King's legitimacy each year of her divinity. Her family is also scrutinized to ensure its piety and devotion to the King.

Once the priests have chosen a candidate, she must undergo yet more rigorous tests to ensure that she indeed possesses the qualities necessary to be the living vessel of Durga. Her greatest test comes during the Hindu festival of Dashain. On the kalratri, or 'black night', 108 buffaloes and goats are sacrificed to the god Kali. The young candidate is taken into the Taleju temple and released into the courtyard, where the severed heads of the animals are illuminated by candlelight and masked men are dancing about. If the candidate truly possesses the qualities of Taleju, she shows no fear during this experience. If she does not, another candidate is brought in to attempt the same thing.

The fearless candidate has proven that she has the serenity and the fearlessness that typifies the goddess who is to inhabit her. Only a small test remains. She must be able to pick out the personal effects of the previous Kumari from an assortment of things laid out before. If she is able to do so, there is no remaining doubt that she is the chosen one.

Life of the Royal Kumari

Once the chosen girl completes the Tantric purification rites and crosses from the temple on a white cloth to the Kumari Ghar to assume her throne, her life takes on an entirely new character. She will leave her palace only on ceremonial occasions. Her family will visit her rarely, and then only in a formal capacity. She will neither work nor attend school. Her playmates will be drawn from a narrow pool of Newari children from her caste, usually the children of her caretakers. She will always be dressed in red, wear her hair in a topknot and have the agni chakchuu or ‘fire eye’ painted on her forehead as a symbol of her special powers of perception.

The Royal Kumari's new life is vastly different than the one to which she has been accustomed in her short life. Whilst her life is now free of material troubles, she has ceremonial duties to carry out. Although she is not ordered about, she is expected to behave as befits a goddess. She has shown the correct qualities during the selection process and her continued serenity is of paramount importance; an ill-tempered goddess is believed to portend bad tidings for those petitioning her.

The Kumari's walk across the Durbar Square is the last time her feet will touch the ground until such time as the goddess departs from her body. From now on, when she ventures outside of her palace, she will be carried or transported in her golden palanquin. Her feet, like all of her, are now sacred. Petitioners will touch them, hoping to receive respite from troubles and illnesses. The King himself will kiss them each year when he comes to seek her blessing. She will never wear shoes; if her feet are covered at all, they will be covered with red stockings.

The power of the Kumari is perceived to be so strong that even a glimpse of her is believed to bring good fortune. Crowds of people wait below the Kumari's window in the Kumari Chowk, or courtyard, of her palace, hoping that she will pass by the latticed windows on the third floor and glance down at them. Even though her irregular appearances last only a few seconds, the atmosphere in the courtyard is charged with devotion and awe when they do occur.

The more fortunate, or better connected, petitioners visit the Kumari in her chambers where she sits upon a gilded lion throne. Many of those visiting her are people suffering from blood or menstrual disorders since the Kumari is believed to have special power over such illnesses. She is also visited by bureaucrats and other government officials. Petitioners customarily bring gifts and food offerings to the Kumari, who receives them in silence. Upon arrival, she offers them her feet to touch or kiss as an act of devotion. During these audiences, the Kumari is closely watched. Here is how some of her actions are interpreted:

   * Crying or loud laughter: Serious illness or death

   * Weeping or rubbing eyes: Imminent death

   * Trembling: Imprisonment

   * Hand clapping: Reason to fear the King

   * Picking at food offerings: Financial losses

Former Kumaris

The end of a Kumari's divinity is abrupt and totally unplanned. As soon as she mentruates Durga 'vacates her body' and she reverts to being a mere mortal. Once a new Kumari has been selected, the former Kumari undergoes a number of rituals that formally divest her of her status. Over four days, the symbols of her divinity are taken away from her. Once this 'unfolding of the plait' is complete, she is left with but a gold coin and a piece of the regal red fabric in which she has been clothed during her years as Kumari.

Former Kumaris receive a pension from the state of 6000 rupees per month ($80). This is around twice the official minimum wage and around four times the average income in this poverty-stricken country. They often continue to be called Kumari rather than by the names given to them at birth. Although they are once again part of the ordinary world, they are often unable to fully shake off the mystique associated with having been a Kumari and often have trouble adjusting to 'normal' life.

Popular superstition says that a man who marries a Kumari is doomed to die within six months by coughing up blood. In reality, however, it seems that most Kumaris do not have trouble eventually finding husbands. All of the living former Kumaris with exception of the youngest ones have married.

(* = deceased)

Related topics

• Nepal
• Newars
• Hinduism
• Buddhism

• Ashford, Lindsay (2004). Kumari: The Living Goddess. Retrieved July 12, 2004 from [1]
• Shakya, Durga, Kumari House. Retrieved July 12, 2004 from [1]

• Kumari
• Nepal Information: Details about Kumari Devi
• Kumari - The Living Goddess
• Virgin Goddess Kumari and her Worship
• Kumari