A 2-year-old girl was paraded through the streets of Kathmandu and named as Nepal’s new “living goddess,” a centuries-old tradition in which a young girl is worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists and resides in a temple palace until she reaches puberty.
On Tuesday, Aryatara Shakya, 2 years and 8 months, was carried by relatives from the family home to the Kumari Ghar, the palace where the Kumari, or “virgin goddess”, lives and receives worshippers, officials, and devotees, said. The ceremony took place during Dashain, the country’s longest and most important Hindu festival. Tuesday marked the eighth day of the 15-day celebration.
Chosen from the Shakya clan of the Newar community indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley, Kumaris are selected between ages 2 and 4 and must meet strict criteria, including unblemished skin and teeth, clear eyes and hair, and a lack of fear of the dark. During festivals, the Kumari is traditionally shown to the public on a chariot and is dressed in red with hair pinned in a topknot and a symbolic third eye painted on her forehead.
Family members of the 2-year-old ‘goddess’ touched her feet with their foreheads, a sign of great respect in Nepal
Family members and devotees knelt to touch Aryatara’s feet with their foreheads, a high sign of respect in Nepal, and offered flowers and money as she was escorted to the palace. The new Kumari is scheduled to bless officials, including the president, later this week.
“She was just my daughter yesterday, but today she is a goddess,” Aryatara’s father, Ananta Shakya, said Tuesday, adding that his wife had dreamed during pregnancy that the child would be special.
Two-year-old Aryatara Shakya, the newly selected Living Goddess Kumari, is carried by family members to the Kumari Residence at Basantapur Darbar Square on Tuesday. She succeeds outgoing Kumari Trishna Shakya, continuing the centuries-old Newar tradition.
Photos: SUMAN NEPALI pic.twitter.com/sUnwgJyxwg
— Nepali Times (@NepaliTimes) September 30, 2025
The girl replaces Trishna Shakya, the outgoing Kumari, who stepped down under tradition upon reaching puberty. Trishna, now 11, left the palace on a palanquin carried by family and supporters. Former Kumaris often face difficulties readjusting to ordinary life. Many have said they struggle with chores and school, and local folklore warns that men who marry a former Kumari will die young, a belief that has left some former Kumaris unmarried.
Nepal gives a monthly pension of US $110 to retired Kumaris
Over recent years, some aspects of the practice have modernized. Kumaris are now allowed private tutoring inside the palace and access to small comforts such as a television set, and the government provides a modest monthly pension to retired Kumaris, about $110, slightly above Nepal’s minimum wage.
Scholars and rights advocates have sometimes criticized the Kumari tradition on child-welfare grounds, but supporters say the girls are highly respected, provided for by their communities, and maintain a revered cultural role that blends Hindu and Buddhist practices. The selection of a Kumari remains an important social event in Kathmandu and an enduring symbol of the valley’s living heritage.
Wow😍
Living Goddess Aaryatara Shakya is Kumari of Kathmandu city from today 🕉️ pic.twitter.com/LXUZDVDxjn— Raghav Mudvari ⚔️🇳🇵 (@Nepali_Comrade) September 30, 2025
The Kumari tradition grew out of a long-standing South Asian practice of goddess worship that was adapted in the Kathmandu Valley into a uniquely Newar institution. The living goddess is regarded as a human embodiment of a female deity, most commonly the Hindu goddess Taleju, an aspect of Durga, and her selection and public role were woven into the religious and political life of medieval Nepal. Kings of the Malla era elevated the Kumari’s status, using the living goddess in royal rituals and processions that reinforced both spiritual authority and political legitimacy.
