Bhoto Jatra today

Kathmandu, June 4: The jewel-adorned vest kept in the custody of Lord Rato Machhindranath will be shown to the public on Saturday amidst an annual ritual of Bhoto Jatra at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. 

The vest will be displayed at around 5:00 pm in the presence of President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, political leaders, national and international dignitaries and chiefs of security agencies, among other officials, informed Hari Prasad Subedi, chief of the Guthi Sansthan of Lalitpur. The living goddess Kumari of Patan also observes the festival. 

As per the tradition, Bhoto Jatra is celebrated on the fourth day of the arrival of the chariots of Rato Machhindranath and Minnath at Jawalakhel. 

A designated government official holds up the vest from the chariot of Rato Machhindranath and shows it to the people in all four directions.

According to folklore, the gem-encrusted traditional vest once belonged to a serpent king who gifted it to a farmer after the latter cured his wife of an ailment. The farmer valued this vest greatly and wore it everywhere.

Once, when he was working in his field, he took it off to prevent it from getting dirty. He hung it up on a nearby tree from where a goblin stole it. Months later, that goblin came to worship Machhindranath where the farmer saw him and recognised his vest. They both claimed ownership of it and agreed to keep it in Machhindranath’s possession until they could provide evidence of their claim.

Some historians though say that the Bhoto Jatra was added as a part of the Machhindranath Jatra by the god’s devout follower King Narendra Deva in 879 AD.

This year, the two chariots reached all their destinations smoothly without any obstructions. “This enabled the community organisations to hold the Bhoto Jatra on Saturday,” Subedi said. 

After the ceremony, the scarlet idol of Machhindranath is taken to Bungamati where it resides for half the year.

Bhoto Jatra, the last part of the multi-month-long Rato Machhindranath festival, was not marked last year and the year before because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival of Rato Machhindranath, considered the god of rain and good harvest, is the longest chariot festival in the country.