Seto Machhindranath Jatra concludes

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 10: The four-day Seto (White) Machhindranath Jatra concluded on Wednesday.

Nilkaji Shakya, President of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Management Committee, said that today, the final day, after a special puja, the idol was carried back to its temple at Jana Bahal.

On Saturday, the first day of the chariot procession, a crowd of devotees pulled the chariot up to Ason. That day, women had the honour of pulling the chariot from Tindhara Pathshala to Ghantaghar, after which the men took over.

Before 2018, women were not allowed to touch the chariot. However, that changed seven years ago when they first pulled it from Tindhara Pathshala. Since then, women have proudly initiated the festival each year.

On the second day, the chariot was taken to Indra Chowk and then to Hanumandhoka Durbar Square, stopping in front of Kal Bhairav.

On the third day, the procession continued through Maru and Chikan Mugal before reaching Lagan.

On the fourth and final day, the chariot made three rounds around a Peepal tree — regarded as the symbolic mother of Seto Machhindranath — marking the end of the procession.

Shakya added that the idol was carried back to its original location at Machhindra Bahal in a palanquin, accompanied by the celebration of Sindur Jatra. It will be placed in its sanctum on Thursday after a final worship ceremony.