3-year-old girl named ‘living goddess’

A three-year-old girl has been named the new Kumari of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu after her predecessor retired when she reached puberty, continuing an ancient tradition that sees young girls worshipped as “living goddesses”.

Trishna Shakya will be anointed as the new Kumari in a ceremony, when she will be taken from her family home to live in a palace in Kathmandu’s Durbar Square where she will be cared for by specially appointed caretakers.

She was selected from among four candidates, Uddhav Man Kar- macharya, a Hindu priest who attends to the Kumari, said.

“She will take her place on the Kumari’s throne after we perform prayers and tantric rituals,” Karmacharya said.

Once she is anointed a living goddess, Shakya will only be allowed to leave her new home 13 times a year on special feast days.

She will be paraded through Kathmandu in ceremonial dress and makeup to be worshipped.

When outside, the Kumari -- who is considered an embodiment of the Hindu goddess Taleju -- is carried because her feet are not allowed to touch the ground.

The tradition blends elements of Hinduism and Buddhism, with the most important Kumaris representing each of the three former royal kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.