Chanira Bajracharya, a former goddess in Nepal, has now received her M.B.A.
Chanira was a Kumari, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Taleju. Taleju originally provided enlightenment to the king but when the king sexually assaulted her, she disappeared. When the king expressed his regret, Taleju decided she would never reappear in her own body, but the king would still be guided by a young girl who she would possess.
The title of Kumari was given to a around dozen girls, but only three of them would experience being a full-time goddess.
Chanira was the Kumari of Patan, which one of the places where the full-time goddess lived. She was chosen in 2001 when she was six. When it was time to choose the next goddess, over a hundred families, from the Newar clan, came with their daughters. The head priest performs rituals that requested Taleju to possess the children.
“The one chosen by the goddess, she starts showing signs, she’s becoming more polite, her face appears red. Those physical changes, they happen. Everyone who is there can see she is being possessed by the goddess,” said Chanira, “The ones not chosen by the goddess cry, or walk away or run, or show some other unacceptable behavior that disqualifies them.”
Eventually, Ms. Bajracharya left the Kumari house, finding herself unemployed and no clear direction of future. She was raised at her own house, and she had a tutor from a school nearby that helped her. She is still treated with a tremendous amount of respect, however.
After, she studied at the distinguished Kathmandu University. Now, she works for a subsidiary of the Australian company Home Loan Experts.
“People used to think because she’s a goddess, she knows everything, and who dares to teach a goddess?” added Ms. Bajracharya.
He also added that education does not interfere with divine duties. Now, Ms. Bajracharya tutors Nihira Bajracharya. She encourages all goddesses to study and learn.
“Once girls did not study. Now all children study. So that freedom should be there for Kumari,” said Udhav Man Karmacharya, who is the head priest at Taleju Temple.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/world/asia/nepal-kumari-living-goddess.html#:~:text=700%2DYear%20Tradition.-,Her%20M.B.A.,still%20made%20time%20to%20study.
Chanira was a Kumari, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Taleju. Taleju originally provided enlightenment to the king but when the king sexually assaulted her, she disappeared. When the king expressed his regret, Taleju decided she would never reappear in her own body, but the king would still be guided by a young girl who she would possess.
The title of Kumari was given to a around dozen girls, but only three of them would experience being a full-time goddess.
Chanira was the Kumari of Patan, which one of the places where the full-time goddess lived. She was chosen in 2001 when she was six. When it was time to choose the next goddess, over a hundred families, from the Newar clan, came with their daughters. The head priest performs rituals that requested Taleju to possess the children.
“The one chosen by the goddess, she starts showing signs, she’s becoming more polite, her face appears red. Those physical changes, they happen. Everyone who is there can see she is being possessed by the goddess,” said Chanira, “The ones not chosen by the goddess cry, or walk away or run, or show some other unacceptable behavior that disqualifies them.”
Eventually, Ms. Bajracharya left the Kumari house, finding herself unemployed and no clear direction of future. She was raised at her own house, and she had a tutor from a school nearby that helped her. She is still treated with a tremendous amount of respect, however.
After, she studied at the distinguished Kathmandu University. Now, she works for a subsidiary of the Australian company Home Loan Experts.
“People used to think because she’s a goddess, she knows everything, and who dares to teach a goddess?” added Ms. Bajracharya.
He also added that education does not interfere with divine duties. Now, Ms. Bajracharya tutors Nihira Bajracharya. She encourages all goddesses to study and learn.
“Once girls did not study. Now all children study. So that freedom should be there for Kumari,” said Udhav Man Karmacharya, who is the head priest at Taleju Temple.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/world/asia/nepal-kumari-living-goddess.html#:~:text=700%2DYear%20Tradition.-,Her%20M.B.A.,still%20made%20time%20to%20study.
