Adorned in red and gold, Aryatara Shakya became Nepal’s newest Kumari. She’s only 2 years old.
In a tradition dating back to the 18th century, the young girl was named the newest religious figure and embodiment of the Nepalese Buddhist goddess, Taleju Bhawani. Following the announcement, she was carried by her father to her temporary home in the Kathmandu palace.
“In this tradition shared between Buddhists and Hindus, you make the divine in an embodied form available, as typically it happens with statues or paintings,” said Alexander von Rospatt, professor of Buddhist and South Asian studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
According to Mandalas Life, the legend of Taleju Bhawani, goddess of protection and divine power, states that she appeared to King Jaya Parkash Malla, the final king of Kathmandu, at secret meetings in which she told him his reign would soon end. One night, when Malla went back to see Taleju, his queen followed him, catching him conversing with the goddess.
Taleju, angered, disappeared and told Malla that she would not return until a palace was built for her and she could return as a Kumari, or young girl, and be worshiped by the king, extending his reign.
Now, Nepal’s religious residents line up to visit the goddess through the young embodiment, asking for her good blessings and fortune.
“The girl embodies the deity; she could function almost like an Oracle, basically giving advice,” von Rospatt said. “People might come to her and ask whether it’s a good moment to engage in a new business endeavor, something along those lines, maybe women who have some form of bleeding disorders, possibly menstrual bleeding disorders, might go to seek her out. Being blessed by her, it’s a good thing.”
Unnati Maharjan, a Nepalese native currently living in Campbell, CA, recalled the good fortune brought to her family over the years by visiting a former Kumari at the Kathmandu Palace.
“I remember one time we went to visit her, and my cousin was wearing this really cute wooden watch. We’re kind of bowing down and our hands are on her leg, and she just points at the watch and the priest is like, ‘You have to give it to her, she likes it,’” Maharjan said. “She does end up having to give up the watch, and we have a really good year in terms of everything; in terms of finances and peace amongst family members.”
However, when the Kumari displays anger, frustration or sadness, misfortune often looms in the future, according to Maharjan.
“I want to say in 2015, there was news circulating that the Kumari had cried, or she was upset the day before. Not too soon after, the major earthquake happened,” Maharjan said.
Similarly, Maharjan’s mother called her from Nepal, expressing that she was worried about the Kumari’s recent signs of frustration, just before outbreaks of the recent protests, organized by Gen Z residents due to government frustration.
While she now embodies the goddess, the Nepali toddler went through a long, thorough process to gain this honor. She is one of 10 active Kumaris throughout the country.
Belonging to the Shakya caste, the Kumari was chosen by religious figures in the Buddhist community to represent the goddess after rigorous physical and mental examinations.
First, the girl is checked for physical imperfections, including moles and scars, along with necessary physical characteristics. She then begins mental tests, facing multiple scenarios, showing the fearlessness within the young girl that a goddess would possess.
“She is placed in a room with 107, I believe, buffalo, goat and chicken [heads]. If the girl isn’t scared, it means that she was possessed by the Goddess, [because] Gods aren’t supposed to be scared of things,” Maharjan said.
Shakya, like all Kumaris before her, will embody Taleju until her first menstrual cycle, when a new Kumari will be chosen. She will then return back to a normal life with her family, attending school, performing chores and carrying out life like every other little girl in Nepal.
Von Rospatt, through his research on religion and culture, found that people outside of Nepal question how well the young girls are treated. He said the girls are well cared for, and their families often take pride in having their daughters be the vessels for a goddess.
“If you’re worried about deprivation of children in Nepal, don’t think about these girls who are kind of more or less middle class,” said von Rospatt. “The girls are faring pretty well, and the record of girls who’ve gone through this, there is no indication that they’ve suffered harm.”
To better understand the life of a Kumari from a first-person point of view, von Rospatt recommended the memoirs of Rashmila Shakya, From Goddess to Mortal, as she recalls her transition from Kumari to an everyday citizen.