BHAKTAPUR, SEPTEMBER 25

Indra Jatra, the festival of rain and good harvest, will begin tomorrow in Bhaktapur district.

The eight-day long festival having religious and cultural significance is observed with much fanfare, especially among the Newar communities in Kathmandu Valley. It is also marked in Kavrepalanchowk and Dolakha districts.

Indra Jatra, the main day of the festival, falls on Bhadra Shukla Chathurdashi, the fourth day of the waxing moon in the month of Bhadra as per the lunar calendar. September 28 is the main day of the festival this year.

It begins from Bhadra Shukla Dwadashi when a towering wooden pole (lingo) signifying the Lord of rain Indra is installed in every town of Bhaktapur city. According to the tradition, erecting a lingo (a wooden pole) will take place tomorrow morning at 10:37am.

As part of the festival, a lingo is brought from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu and installed on the chariot at Hanumandhoka at Basatapur Durbar Square. A number of ceremonies are organised during the eight-day long festival, including Lakhe naach and Pulu Kisi procession.

The chariot procession, a major part of the festival, involves pulling of a big chariot of Kumari and two smaller chariots of Ganesh and Bhairab along the thoroughfares of the city. It will take place on September 27.

The tradition has it that the head of the state visits and worships the living goddess Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav during the festival. Cultural expert and historian Prof Dr Purusottam Lochan Shrestha shared that although Indra Jatra has been celebrated since Dwapar era (during the time of Mahabharata), King Jagat Prakash Malla of Bhaktapur in 17th century collected Vedic scriptures and other holy texts such as Purana. He later imitated the scenes based on the stories narrated in those stories and brought the culture and tradition of festivities, said historian Shrestha. 'The festival is celebrated with the aim of maintaining peace and order, foster prosperity and prevent natural calamity,' he added.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 26, 2023, of The Himalayan Times