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The Gesture of a Goddess

Posted: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

by Satis Shroff

Once upon a time there was a demon named Gurumapa was buried in the grounds of the Tudikhel in Catmandu. The legend also mentions that Gurumapa comes and steals children, much like the Pied Piper of Hameln who wasn't paid the promised sum by the mayor of the town for getting rid of the rats that had infested the town. Unlike the Pied Piper, the attempt of Gurumapa can be thwarted by the noise of a hundred hoofs on Tudikhel's green lawn. That's why the Nepalese celebrate celebrate the Ghode Jatra festival on March 15 every year. This is also the day of victory of good over evil and is celebrated by the former king and queen, as well as the people of Nepal.

The Living Goddess of Catmandu called the Kumari' (virgin) also attends the horse procession. She is revered as the reincarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga although there are several Kumaris in the cities of Catmandu Valley. Much like the Dalai and Panchen lamas in neighbouring Tibet, the Kumari is chosen at an early age from the Sakya ethnic group among the Newars of Catmandu and is still regarded as the royal Kumari, even though the royals of Nepal have been reduced to commoners after Nepal was declared a republic by the maoist-led government. The present Kumari Matina Sakya was four years old when she ascended the throne of the Living Goddess throne on October 2008. During the Dasain festival even the former King Gyanendra and his Queen come to the Kumari Palace in Basantapur to be blessed by the Kumari, whereby they receive a vermillion powder called tika' on their foreheads. The king of Nepal was thought to be the reincarnation of Vishnu, one of the main Gods in Hinduism. But in recent times, God has been banished from his pompous US-designed Narayanhiti Palace. It's a museum now.

The gesture of the Living Goddess towards the king has always been an object of interest for the Hindus and Buddhists of this Himalayan country, because her reaction has been invariably interpreted as a prediction of the state of the nation to come.

In the past, it was the Living Goddess who had to leave her throne with the onset of her menstruation, for a Goddess does not bleed. She was obliged to relinquish her throne even if she fell down and slightly injured herself. A Goddess simply doesn't bleed. A hush would spread over the houses of Catmandu, Bhadgaon and Lalitpur and tongues would wag: Alas, the Kumari is bleeding. She's no longer a Living Goddess. She's a mortal now. A commoner, like every one of us.'

King Birendra and queen Ayeshwarya were allegedly gunned down by their own son prince Dipendra. His brother Gyanendra became the new king. Asked how his brother and his family were killed in the Narayanhiti palace massacre, Gyanendra said that the automatic gun fired on its own. The Maoists and the people fired him and now he's a politician and wants to candidate in the next election. As a royal candidate? Your guess is as good as mine, although there are quite a lot of God-fearing and spiritual Hindus and Buddhists who still believe that the institution of monarchy has always had the function of uniting the varied ethnic peoples of Nepal. At the moment the different ethnic people, who have been in the past ignored by the ruling castes of Hindus and Buddhists, want their share of rights. It's still Paharis (hillfolk) against Madhesays (plains-dwellers) instead of a miteinander , a togetherness with peace, tolerance and dignity towards each other. A democratic unifying figure like Prithvi Narayan Shah is lacking. Prithvi Narayan Shah ruled with his khukri but with the passage of time perhaps there might be enlightened Nepalese intellectuals who will lead this poverty-stricken but ravishingly beautiful country towards democracy.

This could be Gyanendra's ace up his sleeve. The next elections will tell us or perhaps the gesture of Kumari--- the Living Goddess.

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