SATV,Kathmandu, Sept. 25: Kathmandu’s historic Hanumandhoka Durbar Square witnessed a traditional Kanya Shree Kumari Puja on Thursday as part of the ongoing Indra Jatra festivities.

Organised by the World Youth Hindu Federation, the ritual brought together young girls who were dressed in traditional Kumari attire and ceremonially worshipped in front of the Taleju Bhawani Temple.

The annual group worship follows the erection of the wooden pole, the ceremonial pole associated with Indra Jatra. The ritual is rooted in longstanding Newar traditions and is carried out according to Vedic customs.

The girls participating in the ceremony had not yet reached menstruation. In Newar tradition, girls generally between the ages of two and eight who have not undergone Ihi, a symbolic marriage ritual involving the bel or wood-apple fruit, are considered eligible for Kumari worship.During the ceremony, the girls were taken around the Taleju Bhawani Temple before being worshipped at the main shrine. Devotees traditionally regard the ritual as a way of seeking peace, prosperity, good health and protection from harm.

The ceremony also reflects the deep cultural and religious connection between Kumari worship and the centuries-old Indra Jatra celebrations held in the heart of Kathmandu.