Nepal Picks 3-Year-Old As New ‘Living Goddess’

Nepal: Trishna Shakya is the new 'living goddesses" after her predecessor retired when she reached puberty. The three-year-old will be anointed as the new Kumari after a ceremony to be held on Thursday. After the ceremonial process, Trishna will live in a palace in Kathmandu's ancient Durbar Square and will be taken care by special caretakers appointed for her.

Uddhav Man Karmacharya, a Hindu priest, who attends to the Kumari said that Trishna was selected among four candidates. "Once she is anointed a living goddess, Shakya then belongs to the Newar community indigenous to the Kathmandu valley . She will only be allowed to leave her new home 13 times a year on special feast days. She will be paraded through Kathmandu in ceremonial dress and elaborate makeup to be worshipped," the priest said.

The selection of Kumaris is strict and one of the criteria is physical attributes like “a chest like a lion and thighs like a deer”

Kumari is considered an embodiment of the Hindu goddess Taleju and is carried so that her feat doesn't touch the ground. The selection of Kumaris is strict and one of the criteria is physical attributes like "a chest like a lion and thighs like a deer". Despite the girl fulfils the physical attributes she has to prove her bravery like not wailing at the sight of sacrifice of a buffalo. The Newar tradition blends elements of Hinduism and Buddhism, with the most important Kumaris representing each of the three former royal kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur.