A two-year-old girl, Aryatara Shakya, has been proclaimed as Nepal's new living goddess, the Kumari, in Kathmandu.
Carried from her family home to a temple palace on Tuesday, her installation took place during the country's most significant Hindu festival.
At just two years and eight months old, she replaces the previous Kumari, who, by tradition, becomes a mortal upon reaching puberty.
Living goddesses are revered by both Hindu and Buddhist communities. Girls chosen for this sacred role, typically aged between two and four, must meet strict physical criteria: unblemished skin, hair, eyes, and teeth.
They are also expected to show no fear of the dark.
During religious festivals, the Kumari is paraded on a chariot pulled by devotees. Always dressed in red, her hair is styled in topknots and a symbolic "third eye" painted on her forehead.
Following Tuesday's procession, Shakya will reside in the temple palace for several years.
Devotees lined up to touch the girls’ feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of respect among Hindus in the Himalayan nation, and offered her flowers and money. The new Kumari will bless devotees, including the president, on Thursday.
“She was just my daughter yesterday, but today she is a goddess,” said her father Ananta Shakya.
He said there were already signs she would be the goddess before her birth.
“My wife during pregnancy dreamed that she was a goddess and we knew she was going to be someone very special,” he said.
The former Kumari Trishna Shakya, now aged 11 years old, left from a rear entrance on a palanquin carried by her family and supporters. She became the living goddess in 2017.
Tuesday is the eighth day of Dashain, a 15-day celebration of the victory of good over evil. Offices and schools are closed as people celebrate with their families.
Kumaris live a sequestered life. They have few selected playmates and are allowed outside only a few times a year for festivals.
Former Kumaris can face difficulties adjusting to normal life, learning to do chores and attending regular schools.
According to Nepalese folklore, men who marry a former Kumari will die young, and so many girls remain unmarried.
Over the past few years, there have been many changes in tradition and the Kumari is now allowed to receive an education from private tutors inside the temple palace and even have a television set.
The government also now offers retired Kumaris a small monthly pension.
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