KATHMANDU: The traditional festival of Indrajatra that is celebrated on the Bhadra Shukla Chaturdashi every year, according to the lunar calendar, saw a low-key celebration today due to the ongoing prohibitory order in the Kathmandu.
The festival, which extols the Devraj Indra, the God of rains and good harvest, was usually celebrated amidst a considerable fanfare in the Kathmandu Valley, Dhulikhel and Dolakha.
The Head of the State, along with other dignitaries, visit Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square at Basantapur in Kathmandu and observe the chariot procession of Shree Kumari, Shree Ganesh and Shree Bhairav.
The tradition had it that the Head of the State would worship Kumari as the Living Goddess on occasion.
Unlike other years, President Bidya Devi Bhandari could not observe the worship and chariot procession. President Bhandari instead performed atonement worship at the office of the President -Shital Niwas- for her inability to perform puja and observe the chariot procession due to risks of spread of the COVID-19.
Guthi Sansthan Kathmandu Chapter Chief Hari Prasad Subedi shared that President Bhandari performed atonement puja to Lord Ganesh, Bhairav and Goddess Kumari at her office.
The annual tradition is an eight-day affair that officially began today. Basantapur Durbar Square Area donned a deserted look this year due to the prohibitory order to contain the COVID-19 transmission at the community level.
Suman Khadgi, a local of Kathmandu Metropolitan City 19, shared that as his family and him, others also kept themselves indoors and worshiped and celebrated the festival at homes to stay safe from transmission of the flu-like infection. RSS
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