kumaripooja
Kumari, also called Kumari Devi or Kumari Durga refers to the worship of young girls in Nepal by considering her as the infant form of Ma Shakti Devi. Devotees worship the virgin infant girls as the forms of Ma Bala Tripura Sundari Devi and as Ma KanyaKumari Devi.
Child goddesses worship is practicable since Vedic times, and similar to worshipping Child Krishna and Child Muruga, more and more devotees are interestingly worshipping the child forms of female goddesses in the name of ‘KUMARI AMMAN’.
As per famous legend, when Ma Sati Devi self-immolated herself in the Holy fire, some of her body parts fell down on various places in the earth. It is also believed that the holy goddess Vagina and womb fell down at the present day Guwahati, Assam, and later the place has been converted into a famous temple known as “MA KAMAKHYA DEVI TEMPLE”. Once in a year during the June month, the idol of Ma Kamakhya used to bleed as a part of menstruation cycle, and during the time, the temple would remain closed for three consecutive days. The Kamakhya Devi present in the temple is also supposed to be in the form of a teenage Divine girl.
In Nepal, a Kumari is a young girl selected from the Buddhist community in order to perform puja to her, for the welfare of the entire world. The Kumari’s are worshipped by Hindus also. Some rich Kumaris would be chosen by the Buddhists, and she would be allowed to live in the Royal palace of Kathmandu, and she would be worshipped as a form of Shakti Devi only for a prescribed period of time.
Since these Kumaris are worshipped as Devi Durga, they would be decorated with precious golden ornaments, and rich garments would be worn by them. It is also believed that Devi Durga dwells on the souls of the Kumaris for a certain period, and during that time, these girls face would appear brightly, and whatever words come from their mouth would be happened accurately.In Nepal, Kumaris are worshiped only for a few hours, until the completion of the rituals. Usually one cannot be a Kumari beyond 16 years of age. The main reason for conducting of a Kumari puja is to find out the Shakti element in all the females who lives in the world.
“OM MA KANYA KUMARI DEVIYE NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR