Bathing White Macchendranath In Kathmandu

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

The annual bathing ceremony of white Macchendranath is held at Macchendranath Bahal in Kathmandu on December 24, 2009. Living Goddess Kumari has presided over the bathing ceremony of Macchendranath. This is done in preparation for the chariot-pulling festival of Macchendranath to be held in Kathmandu on March 23, 2010 next year.

Bathing ceremony is really for repairing and rehabilitating the idol of Macchendranath in preparation for holding the chariot-pulling festival of Macchendranath. First, the priests transfer the divine spirit from the idol to the auspicious water jar called ‘kalash’ for the time the idol goes for repairing and rehabilitating. Then, they strip all ornaments, clothing and other elements off the idol, and take the idol to the platform specially built for ceremoniously bathing it.

Living Goddess Kumar presides over the bathing ceremony of Lord Macchendranath. Attendants to Living Goddess Kumari bring her to the Macchendranath Bahal and plae her at th especial place for presiding over the bathing ceremony of Macchendranath. Living Goddess Kumari is the supreme goddess; so, she resides over almost all the important festival in Kathmandu.

The idol of Macchendranath standing naked on the platform, receives one bowl after another of five auspicious items. Chanting holy mantras, the attendants to the idol pour first the holy water on the idol, then a bowl of milk, a bow of homemade butter called ghyeo, a bowl of syrup and finally a bow of honey. Attendants to Lord Macchendranath collect all five liquid items poured on the idol collect in a large bowl and distribute it to the devotees as the blessing from Lord Macchendranath.

After this bathing ceremony, Living Goddess Kumari travels on a portable chariot carried by porters back to her abode.

Then, the attendants wipe the idol dry, and make repair of legs made of wood and body of clay if they are broken or damaged. They do such repair and rehabilitation following the religious traditions and strictly abiding by the rules prescribed to do such things on the auspicious days identified by the astrologers.

Once, the idol is perfectly well and healthy. The attendants make the final touch of paint on the idol so that the idol looks perfect. Only after all bit and pieces of the idol is perfectly done, the idol becomes ready to accept the divine spirit. So, it takes months for completing apparently such small things but religiously very important things to do so that the divine spirit of Lord Macchendranath enters it without a hitch.

After the completion of repairing the idol, the attendants perform the rituals and rites of transferring the divine spirit confined in the auspicious holy water jar ‘kalash’ back to the idol. Once the divine spirit of Lord Macchendranath enters the idol and dwells in it then the idol gets the life of Lord Macchendranath again.

Now, the idol as Lord Macchendranath has to go through all the life cycle rituals performed both the male and female child. They start off the life cycle rituals with the birth ritual. Then they perform the adulthood ceremonies such as ‘ihi’ performed to female children before they reach puberty, and ‘upanayan’ performed to male children before they reach adulthood. Gradually, the idol of Lord Macchendranath reaches the adulthood and becomes ready to ascend to the chariot specially built for him to pull around the ancient Kathmandu town.

The original Macchendranath brought from Kamapura dwells in Bungamati for six months and in Patan another six months. The color of this Macchendranath is red. The chariot-pulling festival of this Macchendranath lasts more than a month in Patan. Originally, the lord is pulled from Bungamati to Patan and back to Bungamati every year but this ceremony of pulling such a large chariot back and forth between Bungamati and Patan had become physically and financially formidable. So, currently, the ceremony of pulling the chariot is done only around the Patan old town areas. However, once every twelve years, they pull the chariot from Bungamati to Patan and back to Bungamati. At the end of the chariot–pulling festival, they hold a festival of displaying a jewel-studded vest called ‘Bhoto’ in the presence of the head of state. The Patan Living Goddess Kumari presides over this festival of displaying Bhoto at Jawalakhel. Every twelve years, the festival of displaying Bhoto is also held at Bungamati. The Bungamati Living Goddess Kumari presides over this festival of displaying Bhoto at Bungamati.

If you read the political history of Nepal you find that the rulers have divided their kingdoms as the private property among their sons making several city-states in Nepal. They were constantly at odds with each other sometimes leading to a fight.

Once it so happened that the ruler from Kathmandu could not visit Patan to watch the chariot festival of Lord Macchendranath. The ruler of Kathmandu replicated the chariot festival of the Macchendranath in Patan. He set up a white Macchendranath in Kathmandu inventing a story that the idol of the Macchendranath was found at the place where the chariot to Macchendranath is built for the chariot-pulling festival.

The ruler did not make it a month-long festival as in Patan; he made it only a three-day festival. The chariot makes two stops on the way to Lagan: the southern part of old Kathmandu. The chariot festival of white Macchendranath ends at Lagan. Lord Macchendranath returns back on a portable chariot to his temple at Macchendranath Bahal.

However, the ruler did not dare to cut other rituals and rites performed to Lord Macchendranath. So, you find that almost all rituals and rites performed to red Macchendranath in Patan followed in Kathmandu too.

In addition, almost every city-state has its own Macchendranath but none of the city-states had copied the celebration of the chariot-pulling festival as the Kathmandu-city state did it. However, recently, the Dolkha-city state has set the tradition of celebrating the chariot-pulling festival of Lord Macchendranath.

One of the main reason for setting up Lord Macchendranath in every city-state is the lord is compassionate and provides the people with good crops and their harvest. So, they could not live without such deity in their city-state.

A long story describes why Nepalis have brought Lord Macchendranath from Kamarupa currently the Indian Territory in Assam. A year drought in Nepal had caused tremendous sufferings to the Nepalis. So, King Narendradeva of Bhaktapur, Tantric guru Bandhudatta of Kathmandu and porter Rathan cakra of Patan went to Kamarupa and brought Lord Macchendranath to Nepal. Since, then Nepalis have the rice crop and abundant food. So, every Nepalis reveres Lord Macchendranath for his compassion for all living beings.

December 26, 2009