Acknowledgment I would like to thank our H.P.E teacher Mr.

Prakah Paudyal for giving us the opportunity to explore about our religion, culture and tradition. From this report I got the knowledge about Hinduism and got to share about the Kumari tradition.

Religion in Nepal Women and children visit neighborhood shrines at dawn to offer worship to the gods. Holding plates of rice, flowers, and vermilion powder, they perform puja by lighting incense, ringing the temple bell, and applying ' tika', a red paste, on their foreheads. Passers-by stop at temples and show their reverence to the gods by spending a few minutes praying. Occasionally, groups of' men sit near temples playing music and singing hymns until late night. In Nepal, religion is not just a set of beliefs and accompanying rituals handed down from generation to generation; rather it is a complex intermingling of traditions, festivals, faiths and doctrines that have permeated every strata of Nepalese Society in such a way as to become the very heartbeat of the nation. Nepal is famous, as the world's only Hindu Kingdom. However, it is an intricate and beautiful tapestry formed by the interweaving of Hinduism, Buddhism and other beliefs. Religious tolerance and harmony such as is found in Nepal, is perhaps a unique example to the world. The two have co-existed down the ages and many Hindu temples share the same complex as, Buddhist shrines. Hindu and Buddhist worshippers may regard the same god with different names while performing religious rites. Though Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, many other religions like Islam, Christianity, and Bon are practiced here. Some of the earliest inhabitants like the Kirats practice their own kind of religion based on ancestor worship and the Tharus practice animism. Over the years, Hinduism and Buddhism have been influenced by these practices that have been modified to form a synthesis of newer beliefs.

Hinduism It seems that the first people to set foot in the ancient Nepal were Aryans. The Aryans' basic beliefs are recorded in the Vedas, a collection of over one thousand religious hymns that were to form the foundation of the polytheistic religion of Hinduism. Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religions, and has over 900 million adherents worldwide. The religion dates back over 4,000 years. Hinduism is not a single doctrine, and there is no single founder or teacher. It is said that Hinduism originated around the Indus Valley near the River Indus in modern day Pakistan. The word Hindu came from the word Indus. Hinduism has a basic trinity of three Gods-Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Most Hindus, while revering Brahma, do not usually include his worship in religious ceremonies as his role in the universe is regarded to be essentially completed. Thousands of gods and goddesses make up the Hindu pantheon. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three major Hindu gods who have their own characteristics and incarnations. Each god has his own steed that is often seen kneeling faithfully at the feet of the deity or sometimes outside that god's temple. The multiple hands of each deity, which empowers them to perform great feats, carry symbolic objects. Vishnu, whose primary duty is to assure the preservation of the world and all living forms, is believed to have visited the earth ten times as "avatars" or incarnations. He is also believed to have come to the earth as a Varaha, as Prince Rama, as the god Krishna and as Lord Gautam Buddha. Shiva, the Destroyer, is believed to have three forms-Natraj the god of artistic skill, an anthropomorphic form and the Lingam form, the latter being the most famous Lingam is situated in the north-west of Katmandu. In front of any Shiva temple, one usually sees a statue of Nandi, the divine bull that serves as Shiva's vehicle. In anthropomorphic form, Shiva is depicted with his consort Parbati and usually holds a trident and a small drum. Another popular form of Shiva is terrifying Bhairav, who himself has a number of different forms.

Two of Vishnu's other incarnations- Rama and Krishna-are especially important to the Hindus. Rama and Krishna are the heroes of the classic Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharat respectively. Another widely venerated god is Ganesh, one of the sons of Shiva. Ganesh is revered in Nepal as the god of wisdom and the deity responsible for deciding between success and failure. In practice, the Hindus may choose one particular god as a favorite deity to be worshipped daily, or more likely will give due deference to all the above-mentioned gods and goddesses, along with many other incarnations and deities. Nepal's many Hindu festivals are dedicated to dozens of different deities and are participated by all Hindus. The main scriptures of Hindus are: The Vedas, a collection of hymns praising the Vedic gods The Ramayana, long epic poems about Rama and Sita The Mahabharata, which includes the Bhagavad Gita The Puranas, a collection of stories about the different incarnations and the lives of saints. The Vedas are the most ancient religious Hindu text and define the truth. We believe that the texts were received by scholars directly from God and passed onto generations by word of mouth. We are from the Aryan family living in Central Asia, we are civilized people and that their religion was that of the Vedas. The only other trace of racial reference in the Vedic hymns is the occurrence of two words, one Krishna in seven passages and the other asikini in two passages. One of the meanings of these two words is black, but in all the passages, the words have been interpreted as referring to black demons, black clouds, a demon whose name is Krishna, or the powers of darkness. Hence to take this as evidence to prove that the invading Aryans were fair-complexioned as they referred to their demon foes or perhaps human enemies as black is again to stretch many points on behalf of a preconceived theory.

The word Arya occurs about 33 times (in the Rig Veda)the word Dasa occurs about 50 times and Dasyu about 70 timesThe word Arya occurs 22 times in hymns to Indra and 6 times in hymns to Agni, and Dasa 50 times in hymns to Indra and twice in hymns to Agni and Dasyu 50 times to Indra and 9 times to hymns to Agni. This constant association of these words with Indra clearly proves that Arya meant a worshipper of Indra (and Agni)The Aryas offered oblations to IndraThe Dasyus or Dasas were those who opposed to the Indra Agni cult and are explicitly described thus in those passages where human Dasyus are clearly meant. They are avrata without (the Arya) rites, anyavrata of different rites, ayajavana, non-sacrifices, abrahma without prayers, also not having Brahmana priests, anrichah, without Riks, brahmadvisha, haters of prayers of Brhamnans, and anindra without Indra, despisers of Indra. They pour no milky draughts they heat no cauldron. They give no gifts to the BrahmanaTheir worship was but enchantment, sorcery, unlike the sacred law of fire-worship, wiles and magic. In all this we hear but the echo of war of rite with rite, cult with cult and not one of race with race.

Arya and Swastika The word Arya means 'noble', 'respected', 'high-born', 'elderly', 'cultured', etc. and it is used in all our religious and literary works, right from the Rig Veda in this sense only. It does not indicate any racial and linguistic distinction. Modern scholars are fully aware of the meaning of the term 'Arya'. The term Arya denotes a cultural context only. According to Indian tradition, the term Arya denotes the people who believed in and lived upto a well-defined cultural system. They are often distinguished from the dasas or dasyus who, at different stages of history, deviated from the accepted cultural standards. In other words, the term dasa or dasyus or anarya simple means 'uncultured'; it is a term of abuse or criticism. It again, does not mean that the dasas or dasyus belong to a different race or territory, or even, language. In brief, aryas and dasas belonged to the same race, language and territory from times immemorial. There is no evidence to show that either of them came from outside India. Till 1851 all scholars believed that India was the original home of the Aryas. There is no archaeological proof to support these guesses. Like the swastika, the term Arya, which is rather central in Hindu tradition and

more so in Nazism, is in need of rehabilitation. Of course, the term does not indicate a race, but a quality of character. When Gautam Buddha gives a short formulation of his teachings, he calls it the Arya Satyani, the four Noble Truths. If the secularist has been inhibited about the use of the word Arya as proving the fascist character of Hinduism, it is partly because of this terminology used by Buddha, the hero of their mythical anti-Brahmin revolution. A very crude kind of anti-Hindu propaganda, sometimes used by American Protestant sects in warning the youth against the dangers of Hare Krishna etc., points out that Hinduism and Nazism have a central symbol in common: the swastika. It may of interest to know that the swastika is just as much a central symbol in Buddhism, Ambedkars chosen religion. In China, the swastika is known as a Buddhist symbol. The swastika is quite a Santana symbol, not bound up with any nation or ideology. It is also found among people outside the Hindu sphere of influence. The word swastika comes from su-asti, it is good, as in the Sanskrit greeting Pratah Swasti, good morning. So swastika means auspicious maker or sign of auspiciousness. What the swastika visually depicts, is the solar cycle, be it during the day or during the year. It shows the circular movement at the four cardinal points: sunrise, sunset, midnight; or spring equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox, winter solstice. As such it is shorthand for the Zodiac as well as for all macrocosmic and microcosmic cycles. It signifies the completeness as well as the dynamics of the Whole. Being primarily a solar symbol, it is normally painted in solar colors, like red, saffron or gold; while the Nazi swastika was black. Religion and culture include religion, languages, dresses, castes etc. People of different castes and ethnic groups are found in various parts of the country. We have our own religion and culture. We Newars, being the local citizen of Kathmandu valley have our own unique customs, traditions, jatras and culture. Kathmandu being the capital of the country is influenced by western cultures. In presence people from various parts of the country is migrating to Kathmandu making a mixed culture. This has the direct effect on our local culture and traditions. As we all know Newars are rich in culture. We have many Jatras, festivals etc. but these traditions

are being dominated by the mixed culture in Kathmandu valley as well as the western culture. Among the traditions, one of the unique traditions of Nepal, also known as the worship of the virgin or the living goddess- Kumari tradition.

Kumari Tradition The Himalayan country Nepal is not only the land of many mountain peaks, but also many gods and goddess. Not only does Nepal have many gods, goddess, deities, Bodhisattvas (near Buddhas), avatars and manifestations, which are worshipped and revered as statues, images, paintings and symbols, but it also has a real living goddess. The unique young girl, breathing goddess Kumari Devi. From time immemorial the practice of worshipping an ordinary pre-pubescent girl as a source of supreme power has been an integral part of both Hinduism and Buddhism, a tradition which continues even to this day virtually in every household. They call this girl Kumari Devi and worship her on all the religious occasions. The Kumari Devi is a young girl who lives in the building known as the Kumari Ghar, right beside Kathmandu's Durbar Square.

Genesis of Kumari Tradition

In 1200 AAD, King Arideva assumed the title of Malla and the dynasty that he started ruled the Kathmandu Valley for a period of 568 years. It is said that during the early years of MalIa rule peace and prosperity prevailed. Though the Mallas were Vaishnavites and Shivaites, they had tolerance for other religions also. A Malla king is

supposed to have been in the habit of enjoying games of dice with Taleju, the Mother Goddess and patron of the Malla royal family. It is said that she would in the dice playing. Once, it so happened that the king in a moment of distraction cast Ii lustful eye on Taleju. In a fit of fury the Mother Goddess castigated the king and announced that she would never appear again to play dice with him. The king realizing his folly begged forgiveness and entreated the Goddess to return to the palace as usual. The Goddess Taleju consented to return, but never to play dice again and only to ensure protection to the royal lineage. Thus, she would be present dwelling in the human presence of a young pre-pubescent girl. This gave rise to the tradition of Kumari worship as the guardians of not only the royalty but also the entire nation. The Malla kings built a special home for her outside his palace, today known as the Kumari Bahal to the Newaris, and Kumari Ghar to the general population. Kumari Bahal is situated in the Kathmandu Durbar Square very close to the palace of the former Malla Rulers of Kathmandu.

Selection of the Living Goddess Though the Kumari is revered as a Hindu Goddess, she is selected from a Newari Buddhist family, mainly from the Bajracharya and Shakya clans. The process though which the initial identification is done is a closely guarded secret, but once probable future Kumaris have been narrowed down they will have to undergo several tests before a final selection is made. The selection of the Living Goddess is a highly elaborate tantric ritual. Upon passing the preliminary test, this is merely concerned with their 32 attributes of perfection, including the colour of her eyes, the shape of her teeth and the sound of her voice. Her horoscope must also be appropriate. The 4 to 7 year poor girls from the Sakya community are made to confront a goddess in the darkened room, filled with severed animal heads, skulls, demon masks and other paraphernalia designed to frighten. The experience in this particular, together with the added effects of eerie and mournful sounds plus 'leaping demons in frightening masks is designed to terrify. Normal adults are afraid to go anywhere near this place. Selected children who show signs of fear are rejected straight away while those who pass this order go on to complete other trials and ordeals before a final selection is made. Apart from being chaste and pure, with unblemished skin, the Kumari within whose body the Goddess Taleju resides, must not be wanting in any of the 32 traits and characteristics that epitomises the highest and purest level of human existence possible. . She must have the body of the Banyan tree, legs like a deer, neck like a conch and eyebrows like the cow. She must never have lost a drop of blood. Once the selection procedure is over, the Kumari must undergo a series of secret rituals. She is brought to the temple of Goddess Taleju in Kathmandu City. This ritual is closed, but probably consists of tantric ceremonies to remove all past experiences from her body. She then becomes a perfectly pure vessel for the spirit of the Goddess Taleju to enter. Wearing her Kumari topknot, a tika, and a red mark on her forehead to represent the third eye, red vestments, red painted toes, and elaborate jewelry, the ceremony reaches its climax when the girl takes her seat on the lion throne of the goddess. At dawn she leaves the temple and walks through a huge crowd, treading on a white cloth as she goes across the public square to her official residence.

She is worshipped on all religious occasions. She would now live in a place called Kumari Ghar, at Kathmandus Hanumandhoka palace square. It is a beautifully decorated house where the living goddess performs her daily rituals. The most important festival is during the lndra Jatra, sometime in September when she is carried around the city for three days. It is during this time that the Kumari blesses the King of Nepal with a Tika on the forehead, a practice continued by King Prithvi Narayan Shah from the Malla kings of the valley. A girl remains in this exalted seat of veneration as a goddess as long as she sustains no physical injury; does not deny her status, but eventually till the time of her first menstrual cycle.

Conclusion Different people from different races have different views about this tradition. Some of them say that its against the human right while some say that the virgin girl should not be disturbed. However, it is our tradition and we have to preserve it. As the presence situation of the country we dont know the future of his tradition. Kumari is selected from the horoscope of the king. We dont know if there is the presence of the king or not. Kumari Devi reflects us the local citizen of the capital, Kathmandu. We must preserve this tradition.