Kumari (goddess)

Kumari, a key concept in Hinduism's Shaktism tradition which venerates the feminine aspect of the genderless formless Absolute God Brahma. A Kumari is considered to be the living embodiment of the goddess Taleju, the venerable powerful manifestation of divine woman power, ingraining Hindus and Buddhists to treat their females, mothers, sisters, wife and daughters with respect as goddess.
A Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya clan of the Nepali Newari Buddhist community. It is believed that the girl is possessed by the goddess Taleju or Durga. When her first menstruation begins, it is believed that the deity vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury also causes loss of deity. The chosen female child is typically worshipped from a pre-pubescent age, with her tenure as the divine vessel concluding with her first menstruation or a significant loss of blood, signifying the departure of the goddess's spirit.
This veneration of the young girl, often selected from the Newar Buddhist Shakya community in the Kathmandu Valley, reflects the broader Hindu reverence for women as embodiments of the goddess. While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu. She lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous. As of 2025, the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu is Aryatara Shakya, aged two, selected in September 2025. Unika Bajracharya, selected in April 2014 as the Kumari of Patan, is the second most important living goddess.
The Kumari tradition is a particularly prevalent practice in the Kathmandu Valley. It is followed in the cities of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Sankhu, and Bungamati. The selection process and roles of the Kumari vary among the different towns.

Etymology

The word Kumari is derived from Sanskrit meaning princess. The festival is celebrated during Kumari Jatra, which follows the Indra Jatra religious ceremony. The procession is akin to Indra or Sakra, taking Indrani to his celestial abode as his bride. The Kumari is also revered and worshipped by some of Nepal's Hindus.

Philosophy and scriptures

The worship of the goddess in a young girl represents the worship of divine consciousness spread over all creation. As the supreme goddess is thought to have manifested this entire cosmos out of her womb, she exists equally in animate as well as inanimate objects. While worship of an idol represents the worship and recognition of supreme through inanimate materials, worship of a human represents veneration and recognition of the same supreme in conscious beings.
In the Shakta text Devi Mahatmyam, or Chandi, the goddess is said to have declared that she resides in all female living beings in this universe. The ritual of Kumari is based on this verse. But for the purpose of worshipping a goddess, a young girl is chosen over a mature woman because of her inherent purity and chastity.
Hindu scriptures, such as the Jñanarnava Rudrayamala tantra, assign names to a Kumari depending on her age:

Age	Name
1	Sandhya
2	Saraswati
3	Tridhamurti
4	Kalika
5	Subhaga
6	Parvati/Uma
7	Malini
8	Kubjika
9	Kaalasandarbha
10	Aparajita
11	Rudrani
12	Bhairavi
13	Mahalakshmi
14	Pithanayika
15	Kshetragya
16	Ambika

In Nepal, Kumaris are worshiped only for a day; these names are assigned only while the ritual lasts, often a few hours. Usually one cannot be a Kumari beyond 16 years of age because of menarche. In Bungamati, the Kumari reigns until her first milk tooth falls out.
The main target of a Kumari puja is to realize the potential divinity in every human being, mostly female. A Hindu spiritual aspirant sees the universal consciousness of humanity.

History in Nepal

Whilst the veneration of a living Kumari in Nepal is relatively recent, dating only from the 17th century, the tradition of Kumari-Puja, or virgin worship, has been around much longer. There is evidence of virgin worship taking place in Nepal for more than 2,300 years. It appears to have taken hold in Nepal in the 6th century. There is written evidence describing the selection, ornamentation, and worship of the Kumari dating to the 13th century.
There are several legends telling how the current tradition of the Kumari began. Most of the legends, however, involve the tale of King Jayaprakash Malla, the last Nepalese king of the Malla Dynasty. According to the most popular legend, a king and his friend, the goddess Taleju, approached his chambers late one night as he played tripasa, a dice game. The goddess came along every night to play the game with the condition that the king refrain from telling anyone about their meetings.
One night, the king's wife followed him to his chamber in order to find out who the king was meeting so often. The king's wife saw Taleju, and the goddess was angered. She told the king that if he wanted to see her again or have her protect his country, he would have to search for her among the Newari community of Ratnawali, as she would be incarnated as a little girl among them. Hoping to make amends with his patroness, King Jayaprakash Malla left the palace in search of the young girl who was possessed by Taleju.
There is another, similar story about the disappearance of Taleju. Some believe that the goddess visited King Trailokya Malla every night in the human form. Like other legendary stories, the king and the goddess played tripasa while discussing the welfare of the country. However, one night, King Trailokya Malla made sexual advances towards the goddess Taleju. As a result, the enraged goddess stopped visiting the palace. The king in regret worshipped her and pleaded for her return. Finally, the goddess agreed to appear in the body of a virgin girl from the Shakya family.
A variation of this and other legends names King Gunkam Dev, a 12th-century ancestor of King Jayaprakash Malla, as the main character.
A third variation of the legend says that during the reign of King Jayaprakash Malla, a young girl was banished from the city as it was feared she was possessed by the goddess Durga. When the queen learned of the young girl's fate, she was enraged and insisted the king fetch the girl and install her as the living incarnation of Durga.
Even today, a mother's dream of a red serpent is believed to be a portent of her daughter’s future elevation to the position of Royal Kumari. And each year, the King of Nepal would seek the blessing of the Royal Kumari at the festival of Indra Jatra. This tradition changed in 2008 when Nepal voted to become a republic.

Selection process

Once Taleju is believed to have left the sitting Kumari, there is a frenzy of activity to find her successor. During the period of monarchy, the selection process was conducted by five senior Buddhist Vajracharya priests, the Panch Buddha, the Bada Guruju or Chief Royal Priest, Achajau, the priest of Taleju and the royal astrologer. The king and other religious leaders who might know of eligible candidates were also to be informed of the commencement of the selection. Today, representatives of the president and vice president, as well as the federal parliament and cabinet, are also given word on the succession, alongside a few of the religious dignitaries mentioned and others.
Eligible girls are from the Newar Shakya caste of silver and goldsmiths. The candidate must be in excellent health, must never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, must be without blemish, and must not have yet lost any teeth. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the battis lakshanas, or "thirty-two perfections" of a goddess, which involves their bodies being stripped of all clothing and caressed by the priests. Some of these "perfections" are poetically listed, as such:

A neck like a conch shell
A body like a banyan tree
Eyelashes like a cow
Thighs like a deer
Chest like a lion
Voice as soft and clear as a duck's

In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be as black as possible, and she should have dainty hands and feet, small and well-recessed sexual organs, and a set of twenty teeth.
During the royal period, any candidate for the title was also observed for signs of serenity and fearlessness, and her horoscope was examined to ensure that it is complementary to the king's. It was important that there not be any conflicts, as she must confirm the king's legitimacy each year of her divinity. Her family was also to be scrutinized to ensure its piety and devotion to the king.
Once the priests have chosen a candidate, she must undergo yet more rigorous tests to ensure that she indeed possesses the qualities necessary to be the living vessel of Durga. Her greatest test comes during the Hindu festival of Dashain, also known as Vijaya Dashami. On the Kalaratri, or "black night", 108 buffaloes and goats are sacrificed to the goddess Kali. The young candidate is taken into the Taleju temple and released into the courtyard, where the severed heads of the animals are illuminated by candlelight and masked men are dancing about. If the candidate truly possesses the qualities of Taleju, she shows no fear during this experience. If she does, another candidate is brought in to attempt the same thing.
In the next test, the living goddess must spend a night alone in a room among the heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes without showing fear. The fearless candidate has proven that she has the serenity and the fearlessness that typifies the goddess who is to inhabit her. After passing all other tests, the final test is that she must be able to pick out the personal belongings of the previous Kumari from an assortment of things laid out before her. If she is able to do so, there is no remaining doubt that she is the chosen one.
There are claims contrary to the commonly believed ritual and screening process, however. The ex-Royal Kumari Rashmila Shakya states in her autobiography, From Goddess to Mortal, that this has nothing to do with the selection process, but rather is a ritual the Royal Kumari goes through each year, that there are no men dancing around in masks trying to scare her, and that at most, there are only a dozen or so decapitated animal heads in the scary room test. She also describes the requisite physical examination of each Kumari as neither intimate nor rigorous.
Once the Kumari is chosen, she must be purified so that she can be an unblemished vessel for Taleju. She is taken by the priests to undergo a number of secret Tantric rituals to cleanse her body and spirit of her past experiences. Once these rituals are completed, Taleju is believed to enter her, and she is presented as the new Kumari. She is dressed and made up as a Kumari and then leaves the Taleju temple and walks across the square on a white cloth to the Kumari Ghar, which will be her home for the duration of her divinity.