Seto Machhindranath chariot festival from today

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 5; Pulling of the chariot of Seto Machhindranath from Tindhara Pathshala, Jamal, will begin on Saturday.

One of the biggest chariot festivals in Kathmandu Valley, the three-day chariot procession of Seto Machhindranath will be towed to different locations of the city from Saturday.  

Like the previous six years, the chariot is being pulled by women from Tindhara Pathshala to Ghantaghar. After that, it will be pulled by men. 

Nani Hira Maharjan, president of Nani Hira Rath Yatra Committee, said that women were ready to pull the chariot of Seto Machhindrnath.  The committee has put around 300 women on standby to pull the chariot, she said.

All those women willing to pull the chariots can take part in chariot pulling directly. They, however, need to wear comfortable dress and not to wear valuable ornaments, she said 

In the past, women were not allowed to touch the chariot, but this tradition ended in 2018 by allowing women to pull the chariot. 

For the first time, the women pulled the chariot of Seto Machhindrnath in 2018 from Tindhara Patshala of Jamal. 

In 2017, women took part only in the incense procession on the front and back sides of Seto Machhindranath chariot. 

The chariot procession was not organised in the first phase lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This year, the women are pulling the chariot for the 7th year. The chariot procession honouring the god of rain is also known as 'Jana Baha Dyah Jatra'. 

Nilkalji Shakya, chairperson of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession Committee, said that as part of the preparations for the chariot pulling, the chariot route has 

already been inspected.

Several sub-committees have been formed to manage traffic, pull the chariot, mobilise volunteers, play traditional musical instruments, decorate the chariot, light oil-fed lamps and carry out other tasks to ensure a smooth procession, he said.

He further mentioned that with the collaboration of the Nepal Tourism Board, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, and the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession Committee, several ambassadors have been invited to observe the festival.

Similarly, President Ramchandra Paudel, in his capacity as the Head of State, will visit to worship Seto Machhindranath on the first day of the festival on Saturday.

The 32-hand-long (12-story-high) chariot is built through the joint efforts of eight groups from the Maharjan, Manandhar, Chitrakar and Kansakar communities, he informed.

Seto Machhindranath is a widely venerated deity of the Kathmandu Valley, and the chariot-pulling festival is a three-day-long cultural event.

The entire structure of the chariot is modeled in the shape of a temple and is pulled with large ropes from both sides.

On the first day, the procession covers Jamal, Ratna Park, Bhotahiti and Ason.

The festival of Seto Machhindranath is believed to have begun in 595 AD. The deity is also known as Janmadyo, Aryavalokiteshwor, Karunamaya and Jamaleswor.