Kumari , or Kumari Devi , or The Living Goddess - Nepal is a tradition of adoring young, unpublished girls as a manifestation of the energy of divine or devi women in religious traditions Hindu. The word Kumari comes from the Sanskrit Kaumarya , which means "princess".
In Nepal, a Kumari is a pre-puberty girl chosen from the Shakya or Bajracharya clan of the Newari Nepal community. Kumari is worshiped and adored by some Hindus in the country. Although there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having some, the most famous are Kumari Kingdom Kathmandu, and he lives in Kumari Ghar, a palace in the city center. The selection process is very tight. In 2017, Royal Kumari is Trishna Shakya, aged three, who was installed in September 2017 by the Maoist government that replaced the monarchy. Unika Bajracharya, elected in April 2014 as Kumari of Patan, is the second most important goddess of life.
A Kumari is generally chosen for one day and adored according to certain festivals such as Navaratri or Durga Puja. In the Kathmandu Valley, this is a common practice. Kumari is believed to be the incarnation of Taleju. When her first menstruation begins, it is believed that the goddess empties her body. Serious illness or loss of blood due to injury also causes loss of god.
Video Kumari (goddess)
Philosophy and scriptures
The worship of the goddess of a young girl represents the worship of divine consciousness scattered throughout creation. When the highest goddess is considered to have manifested this entire cosmos from her womb, it also exists in living and inanimate objects. While idolatry represents worship and supreme recognition through inanimate matter, the cult of man represents worship and recognition of the highest in conscious beings.
In the Shakta Devi Mahatmyam or Chandi text, the goddess is said to have declared that she lives in all female living things in this universe. The whole Kumari ritual is based on this verse. But when worshiping a goddess, only a young girl is chosen over a mature woman because of their innate purity and purity.
Hinduism such as JÃÆ' Â ± anarnava Rudrayamala tantra gives a name to a Kumari depending on his age. A one-year-old girl called Sandhya, a two-year-old girl named Sarasvati, a three-year-old boy called Tridhamurti, in her fourth year is Kalika, in fifth place she is Subhaga, in sixth she is Uma, in the seventh year she is called Malini. An eight-year-old girl called Kubjika, in the ninth year he is Kaalasandarbha, in the tenth year he is Aparajita, on the eleventh he is Rudrani, in the twelfth year he was named Bhairavi, on the thirteenth he was Mahalakshmi, on the fourteenth he is Pithanayika, on the fifteenth he is Kshetragya, and at the age of sixteen he is Ambika.
In Nepal, Kumaris is worshiped for just a day; these names are given only when the ritual takes place, often several hours. Usually one can not become a Kumari beyond the age of 16 because of menarche.
The main target of Kumari Puja is to realize the potential divinity in every human being, most women. A Hindu spiritual aspirant sees universal awareness of humanity.
Maps Kumari (goddess)
History in Nepal
While the Kumari worship that lives in Nepal is relatively new, which only comes from the 17th century, the Kumari-Puja tradition, or the cult of the virgin, has been around much longer. There is evidence of the virgin worship that took place in Nepal for over 2,300 years. It seems to have happened in Nepal in the 6th century. There is written evidence explaining Kumari election, ornament and worship dating from the 13th century.
There are several legends that tell how the current Kumari tradition begins. Most of the legends, however, the story of King Jayaprakash Malla, the last Nepali king of the Malla Dynasty (12th-17th century century). According to the most popular legend, a king and his friend, the goddess Taleju, approached his rooms one night when he played tripasa, a dice game. The goddess comes every night to play games, provided that the king does not tell anyone about their meeting.
But one night the king's wife followed him into his office to find out who the king often met. The king's wife sees Taleju and the goddess is angry. He told the king that, if he wanted to see him again or protect his country, he had to look for him among the Ratnawali Newari (Shakya) community, because he would be transformed into a little girl among them. Hoping to make amends with his patron, King Jayaprakash Malla left the palace to find a young girl possessed by the spirit of Taleju.
Similarly, there is another story about Taleju's disappearance. Some believe that the goddess visited the king of Trailokya Malla every night in human form. Like other legendary stories, kings and goddesses play tripasa (dice) while discussing the welfare of the state. However, one night King Trailokya Malla made sexual advances against the Taleju goddess. As a result, the goddess in anger stopped visiting the palace. The king in repentance worshiped and begged him to return. Finally, the goddess agrees to appear on the body of a virgin girl from the Shakya family.
In another version of the story, a king is very fond of choosing. She is also interested in young girls. Unfortunately when having sex with a young girl she died. This made the king really annoyed, guilt ridden and sad, who repented of sin by concluding the girl had returned to the spiritual nature of the goddess. He declared the creation of kumari devi to continue to remind the world of the sacred nature of young girls and virginity.
Even today, a mother's dream of a red snake is believed to be a sign of her daughter's elevation to the position of Royal Kumari. And every year, the King of Nepal seeks blessings from the Royal Kumari at the Indra Jatra festival. This tradition has changed from 2008 with the country becoming the youngest republic in the world.
Variations from this legend and other legend King Gunkam Dev, 12th-century ancestor of King Jayaprakash Malla, as the main character of Jayaprakash Malla.
The third variation of the legend says that during the reign of King Jayaprakash Malla, a young girl was banished from the city for fear she was possessed by the goddess Durga. When the queen learns about the young girl's fate, she becomes angry and insists that the king takes the girl and installs it as the incarnation of Durga life.
Selection process
After Taleju leaves Kumari sitting, there is a madness of activity to find his successor. Some people compare the selection process with the processes used in nearby Tibet to find Tulkus reincarnation, such as the Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama. The selection process was carried out by five senior priests of Vajracharya Buddha, Buddha Panch, Bada Guruju or Head of the Reverend Kingdom, Achajau Taleju priest and royal astrologer. Kings and other religious leaders who may know eligible candidates are also told that a search is underway.
The decent girls are from the silver caste and the Newar Shakya goldsmith. He must be in good health, never shedding blood or suffering from any disease, without blemish and not necessarily tooth loss. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for battis lakshanas , or thirty-two perfection of a goddess. Some of these are poetically listed as follows:
- The neck is like a snail shell
- The body is like a banyan tree
- Eyelashes like cows
- Thighs like deer
- Chest like a lion
- Sound soft and clear like a duck
In addition, his hair and eyes must be very black, he must have tiny hands and feet, a small, well-tucked sexual organ and a set of twenty teeth.
The girl was also observed for signs of calmness and her courage and horoscope examined to ensure that it was a complement to the King. It is important that there will be no conflict because he must ensure the legitimacy of the King each year from his divinity. His family was also researched to ensure his piety and allegiance to the King.
After the priests choose a candidate, he or she has to undergo a more rigorous test to ensure that he does have the qualities necessary to become a life vessel Durga. His greatest test came during the Hindu Dashain festival. On the calratry, or 'black night', 108 buffaloes and goats were sacrificed to the Goddess of Kali. The young candidate was taken to the Taleju shrine and released into the yard, where the disconnected animal head was illuminated by candlelight and masked men danced. If the candidate really has the quality of Taleju, he shows no fear during this experience. If he does, another candidate is brought in to try the same.
As a final test, the living goddess must spend the night alone in a room between heads of goats and water buffalos slaughtered ritually without showing fear. The fearless candidate has proven that he has the calm and courage that characterizes the goddess who inhabits him. After passing all the other tests, the last test is that he should be able to choose personal items from Kumari before from various things that are in front of him. If he is able to do so, there is no doubt that he is the chosen one.
However there are claims that are contrary to ritual and screening processes that are generally believed. Former Royal Kumari member Rashmila Shakya stated in his autobiography From Dewi to Fana that this has nothing to do with the selection process, but rather the ritual that Royal Kumari does each year, and that there are no men dancing with a mask trying to frighten him, and that at most only a dozen heads of beasts are beheaded in a scary room test. He also explains the physical checks each Kumari needs because it is not intimate or thorough.
After Kumari is chosen, he must be refined so he can be a flawless ship for Taleju. He was taken by priests to undergo a number of secret Tantric rituals to cleanse his body and spirit from his past experiences. After this ritual is over, Taleju enters and he is presented as the new Kumari. She is dressed and made as Kumari and then leaves the Taleju temple and walks across the square on a white cloth to Kumari Ghar that will be her home during her divinity.
Kumari Kingdom Life
After the chosen girl completes the Tantric purification ceremony and the cross from the temple on white cloth to Kumari Ghar to take her throne, her life takes on an entirely new character. He will leave his palace only on ceremonial occasions. His family rarely visited him, and then only in formal capacity. His playmate will be pulled from the narrow pool of Newari's children from his caste, usually his nanny's children. She will always be dressed in red, wearing her hair in a crest and having "agni chakchuu" or "sparks" painted on her forehead as a symbol of the power of special perception.
The new life of The Royal Kumari is very different from the life he has experienced in his short life. While his life is now free of material problems, he has a ceremonial duty to carry out. Though he was not commanded, he was expected to behave like a goddess. He has shown the right qualities during the selection process and his ongoing patience is very important; Angry goddesses are believed to be bad news for those who petitioned him.
Kumari's journey across the Durbar Square was the last time his feet hit the ground until the goddess came out of his body. From now on, when he ventures outside his palace, he will be carried or transported on his gold stretcher. Her legs, like everything, are now sacred. Applicants will touch them, hoping to receive a break from problems and illness. The King himself will kiss them every year when he comes to seek his blessing. He will never wear shoes; if their legs are closed, they will be covered with red stockings.
Kumari's power is considered so strong that even a glimpse of himself is believed to bring good luck. The crowd waited under Kumari's window at Kumari Chowk, or the courtyard, his palace, hoping that he would pass through a latticed window on the third floor and glance at them. Despite his irregular appearance lasting only a few seconds, the atmosphere in the yard is filled with devotion and admiration when it happens.
The more fortunate, or more connected, applicants visited Kumari in his chamber where he sat on the throne of a golden lion. Many of those who visit him are people who suffer from blood or menstrual disorders since Kumari is believed to have special powers over the disease. He is also visited by bureaucrats and other government officials. Applicants usually bring gifts and food offerings to Kumari, who receives them silently. Upon arrival, she offers them to touch or smell as an act of devotion. During this audience, Kumari was closely watched and his actions were interpreted as predictions from the applicants' lives, for example as follows:
- Cry or loud laugh: serious illness or death
- Eyes cry or rub: Death immediately
- Shaking: Prison
- Cheers: The reason for fear of the King
- Chose on food deals: Financial losses
If Kumari remains silent and expressionless throughout the audience, his devotees abandon the spirit. This is a sign that their wish has been granted.
Many people pay attention to Kumari's needs. These people are known as Kumarimi and are led by patrons. Their work is very difficult. They should pay attention to every need and desire Kumari while giving instructions in ceremonial duties. Although they can not directly order him to do anything, they must guide him through his life. They are responsible for bathing him, dressing him and attending his makeup and preparing it for the visitors and for ceremonial occasions.
Traditionally, Kumari does not receive education because he is widely considered omniscient. However, modernization has made it necessary to have an education after he entered mortal life. Kumaris are now allowed to attend public schools, and have a life in a class that is no different from other students. While many kumaris, such as Kumari from Bhaktapur, go to school, others, like the main kumari in Kathmandu, receive their education through private tutors.
Similarly, her limited playmate must learn to respect her. Because every wish has to be granted, they must learn to give up to him whatever they may have that he wants and submit to his wishes in what game or activity to play.
List of Kumaris
Controversy
On July 3, 2007, Sajani Shakya was released from her position as Kumari from Bhaktapur after visiting the United States to attend the release of the film Dewi Hidup in Silverdocs, a festival documentary of the American Film Institute/Discovery Channel in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The visit, according to the elders, has defiled his holiness. A few weeks later, the temple officer in the birthplace of Sajani Shakya retracted their previous statement and said that he would not be stripped of his title because he was willing to undergo a "cleansing" ceremony to eliminate the sin he might have had while traveling.
Popular culture
- I show up in the October 25, 2015 episode of the CBS drama series
, titled "Waiting for Taleju". In the episode, US Secretary of State, Elizabeth McCord, met with Kumari in hopes of getting support for a deal that will help secure US disaster relief funds after the Nepal earthquake in April 2015. - In the webtoon series For Sake of Sita, the female lead is Kumari in Nepal. In the novel The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones, the character of Living Asheth is a little girl who is worshiped as a goddess in one of the worlds visited by the main character, and relies heavily on Kumari, being an incarnation of a goddess and must live with strict rules of ritual purity.
See also
- Devi Kanya Kumari
- Clan
- Kanwari
- Matrices
References
- Ashford, Lindsay (2004). Kumari: The Living Goddess. Retrieved 12 July 2004 from [1]
- Shakya, Durga, Kumari House. Retrieved 12 July 2004 from [2]
- Tree, Isabella (2014): The Living Goddess ISBN 978-178060046-8
External links
- Nepal Information: Details about Kumari Devi
- Bhaktapur Kumari visits the US - photos and videos of Kumari visiting the US
- PhotoEssay- Kumari-virgin-goddess
- The 7-year-old girl who was declared the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu - published in 2016-Sep-09; taken in 2016-Dec-13.
- Nepal outlines the new 'life goddess' - published 2017-Sep-28 taken in 2017-Sep-28
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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