Lalitpur, April 30:

The festival of Rato (red) Machhindranath is set to kick off from Pulchowk, Patan, tomorrow during which Bhoto (vest) of deity Machhindranath, god of rainfall, is shown to the public.

This is the most important festival of Patan. Hindus worship the deity Machchindranath as a historic god of compassion.

Legends have it that there was drought in the Kathmandu Valley for a long time 1400 years ago. As a result, famine and pandemic of diseases came to grip the people of the Valley resulting in a number of deaths. In order to salvage this situation, Malla King of Kathmandu Narendra Dev, Tantrik scholar Bandhudutta Acharya and porter Lalit Jyapu brought the guru of the Gorkhanath, Rato Machhindranath, to the country.