LALITPUR: The famed Machhindranath deity, which has been kept at Bungamati for the past six month, will be brought to Patan on December 5.

The decision was taken at the suggestion of an astrologer, Kirti Kiran Joshi, to bring the deity to Patan. The deity will be transferred to Machhindranath temple at Machindrabahal of Patan. The longest festival of Kathmandu Valley, the Machhindranath Jatra, will run for six months. The deity is rotated between Bungamati and Patan every six months.

When the deity is kept at Bungamati it is only worshipped ritualistically once a month while in Patan the deity brings along various festivals. After the deity is brought to Patan, the timbers are cut to make a towering wooden chariot, said Baikuntha Acharya, Chief of Guthi Sansthan, Lalitpur Branch.