Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

Myth about Legend of Nepal published in 2010 by writer Jnan Kaji Manandhar writes about two legends related to the origin of Kumari. One such story says, there used to be a Yantra , a mystical diagram endowed with miraculous spiritual powers of goddess Taleju. The legend says the first Kumari arrived at the valley of Kathmandu in the form of Yantra. In those days, the king could talk to the Kumari (Yantra), seek advice and directions regarding administration guidance. Once the lid of the mystical Yantra was let open, that made the royal girl disappear forever. The king was very sad; he could not talk with the Yantra. With days passing by the King was in his deep sorrow. One night in a dream, the goddess appeared and told him to install a virgin girl from the Sakya caste and she will immerse in her body. Then the king could talk to her as a Kumari. The other version says that one Malla King used to play dice with the goddess Kumari. At one instance, the king was infatuated with t...

Ten years back on my first visit to the Indra Jatra festival at Zero Point, Gangtok I happened to see a photo frame of a small girl in a red costume significantly distinct from other girls of her age with the painted third eye on her forehead. That was my first day with Indra Jatra, Newar’s biggest festival at Sikkim, and of course with the goddess Kumari, which in 2011 was declared a Government Holiday by the State Government of Sikkim.  The festival highlighted the pulling off of a chariot by the devotees with a photo frame of Goddess Kumari on it that was moved through the streets of Gangtok from Zero Point to MG Marg. The chariot was led by masked dancers with faces of deities in honour of God Indra and a long procession of Newar devotees. Getting back to the story of Kumari, it is said there are eleven living goddesses known as Kumari in Nepal. The Kumari of Kathmandu also known as the Royal Kumari is considered to be the most significant and largely followed by the Newa...