90% of Nepalese people are Hindus. It was only after the fall of monarchy in 2006, when Nepal lost its name as “the only Hindu country in the world”. The King was regarded for centuries as an incarnation of the Hindu Lord Vishnu. The streets of Nepal are full of temples and deities. Nepalese derive strength and assurance from these entities present on every corner of the streets, especially in Kathmandu valley- the city of temples. Among several deities in Nepal: Bramha- the God of Creation, Vishnu- the God of Preservation and Prosperity and Shiva- the God of Destruction, there are even animals like the cow, dog, crow and the snake who have their special days when they get worshiped as Gods . And there is one more. She is known as the incarnation of Hindu Goddess Taleju. She is supposed to possess cow like eyelets, a snail like neck, a tree like body, just like the portrayal of the image of a Goddess in the holy Hindu scripture. She is “Kumari – the living Goddess of Nepal”.  Everyone kneels down and takes blessings from her. Even the deposed King of Nepal always knelt in front of her.  Kumari is believed to bring good luck and is really the most powerful deity in Nepal.  Hundreds of visitors flock Kumari-Ghar to take a glimpse of “Kumari”.

Kumari originated from the tradition of virgin worship in 6^th century. Certain formalities have to be followed through before one can seek Kumari.  A Kumari is selected at the age of 2 to 4 who satisfies all 32 conditions of perfection. These include having Shakya as a family name, having black hair, black eyes and blemish free body.  Once she is selected as Kumari, Nepalese believe that the spirit of ancient Goddess Taleju starts residing in her body and purifies her old memories and impurities. The girl is then believed to be reborn as the Goddess Taleju herself. The mystery and power of the Goddess are embodied in the girl through make up. A ‘tika’ is glued in the girl’s forehead which is eye of wisdom that sees through all the things in nature. Her ornaments are believed to have divine power.

A Kumari is not supposed to talk to anyone and seldom makes public appearance. There are 10 reigning Kumaris in Nepal. The ones from Kathmandu, Patan and then Bhaktapur are regarded as the most prominent and powerful. They remain “Kumari” until their first period around the age of 10. After that, the hunt down for the next living Goddess begins.

On EnvironmentalGraffiti.com, I saw this new post about Asia’s amazing Buddha statues: 17 Biggest Buddhas on Earth. I got very excited about it right from the name and began scanning the article with huge hopes of finding Nepal in the back of my mind.  I was blown away by the creativity of these countries on being able to design such amazing masterpieces. As you can see in that post, these gigantic Buddha statues are everywhere around Asia.

Image Courtesy - Visit Nepal.com

It is so nice to see Buddhism-the Symbol Of Peace celebrated, appreciated and followed by people far and wide at an era when the world really needs to embrace it.

Sad part is that I could not see Nepal anywhere in there. Then I realized there is nothing like that in Nepal. Buddha (Siddhartha Gautam) was born in Lumbini, Kapilvastu, Nepal.  He was the prince of the Shakya dynasty who had been ruling that part of the region for ages. After spending 28 years in Lumbini, he left his palace in search of ultimate peace. He received enlightment in India vowing under a bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.

I have come across a lot of people who don’t know he was really from Nepal. And why not? We haven’t done enough to spread his noble teachings around the world.