Rato Machhindranath Jatra begins today

The chariot procession of the rain god, Rato Machhindranath, is all set to begin in Lalitpur on Monday.

Guthi Sansthan, the government body authorised to celebrate the festival, said all preparations for this year’s procession are over.

People of eight localities in Patan—Natol, Gabahal, Mekhabahal, Kusunti, Kayanni, Walmaya, Dhaugol and Sachhi Chhe—usually lead the Machhindranath chariot procession.

On Monday, the chariot is pulled from Pulchowk to Gabahal, from where it is taken to Mangalbazar and other surrounding areas.

According to Hari Subedi, the Chief of Guthi Sansthan, Patan, the chariot is already ready and that locals have started worshipping the rain god.

“The festival will formally begin tomorrow evening after a ceremony called Gaai Daan (donation of a cow),” he said.

Legends associated with the Machindranath Jatra celebration have it that the procession once rescued Kathmandu Valley of severe drought. It is believed that the Lichhavi King Narendra Dev brought the idol of Rato Machhindranath from Assam in India to rid his country of the drought.

The chariot consists of a large wooden edifice of about 20m in height and 4.5m in diameter. The edifice built in the shikhar sailee (mountain structure) houses various reincarnations of Rato Machhindranath and other Hindu deities.

The month-long procession, which will conclude after the chariot crosses the river Bungamati in Lalitpur, ends with another festival called the Bhoto Jatra. Bhot Jatra is symbolically celebrated to find the owner of a vest gifted to a farmer of Lalitpur by a serpent.

source: the kathmandu post,13 may 2013