You can get to read various tales of Kumari Puja in Nepal. The famous and most believed tale is of Jay Prakash Malla, an ancient Malla king in Nepal. People say that the king used to play dice games with goddess Taleju in his chamber. Taleju was the clan deity of the Mallas. So, neither anyone should know nor he could tell. Unfortunately, one day, his queen found them playing dice in his chamber. Being caught by the queen, the goddess Taleju disappeared. Before leaving, the Taleju goddess told the king that she will incarnate herself as a little girl of the Newari (Shakya) community of Ratnawali. After hearing her statements, the King left the palace in search of a young girl possessed by Taleju’s spirit. This way, the tradition of worshipping the young girl started around the 17th century in the Kathmandu valley.
The tradition is about 300 years old. But, these days we have been listening to the criticism of Goddess Kumari focusing on her child rights. Many things of the past have changed but lately, the number of participants for the Kumari selection is very low. Are we in a way to lose this Kumari tradition, the culture of changing a young girl into a living goddess through tantrism and different rituals?
Read More: https://www.heavenhimalaya.com/goddess-kumari/
