Kumari, or Kumari Devi is a living Hindu goddess in Nepal. Kumari means literally virgin in Nepali. A Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the Nepalese Newari community. The Kumari she is revered and worshipped by the country's Hindus as well as the Nepali Buddhist not the Tibetan Buddhist. While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu. The selection process for her is especially rigorous, and she lives ...

Including:

• Kumari - History
• Kumari - Selection process
• Kumari - Life of the Royal Kumari
• Kumari - Former Kumaris
• Kumari - References
• Kumari - External links

Read more here: » Kumari: Encyclopedia - Kumari

Once the chosen girl completes the Tantric purification rites and crosses from the temple on a white cloth to the Kumari Ghar to assume her throne, her life takes on an entirely new character. She will leave her palace only on ceremonial occasions. Her family will visit her rarely, and then only in a formal capacity. She will neither work nor attend school. Her playmates will be drawn from a narrow pool of Newari children from her caste, usually the children of her caretakers. She will always be dressed in red, wear her hair in a topknot and have the agni chakchuu or ‘fire eye’ painted on her forehe ...

See also:

Kumari, Kumari - History, Kumari - Selection process, Kumari - Life of the Royal Kumari, Kumari - Former Kumaris, Kumari - References, Kumari - External links

Read more here: » Kumari: Encyclopedia II - Kumari - Life of the Royal Kumari

Whilst the veneration of a living Kumari in Nepal is relatively recent, dating only from the 17th century, the tradition of Kumari-Puja, or virgin worship, has been around for much longer. There is evidence of virgin worship taking place in India for more than 2,600 years. It appears to have taken hold in Nepal in the 6th century. There is written evidence describing the selection, ornamentation and worship of the Ku ...

See also:

Kumari, Kumari - History, Kumari - Selection process, Kumari - Life of the Royal Kumari, Kumari - Former Kumaris, Kumari - References, Kumari - External links

Read more here: » Kumari: Encyclopedia II - Kumari - History

Once Taleju has left the sitting Kumari, there is a frenzy of activity to find her successor. Some have compared the selection process to the process used in nearby Tibet to find the Dalai Lama or the Panchen Lama. The selection process is conducted by five senior Buddhist Vajracharya priests, the Panch Buddha, the Bada Guruju or Chief Royal Priest, Achajau the priest of Taleju and the royal astrologer . The King and other religious leaders that might know of eligible candidates ...

See also:

Kumari, Kumari - History, Kumari - Selection process, Kumari - Life of the Royal Kumari, Kumari - Former Kumaris, Kumari - References, Kumari - External links

Read more here: » Kumari: Encyclopedia II - Kumari - Selection process