The festival formally began today (Monday) evening after a cow donation ceremony (Gau Daan). On the first day of the month long festival, the chariot was pulled towards Ganabahal from Pulchowk, said the Administrative Chief of the Lalitpur Guthi Office Bhakta Raj Rai. The rath would be pulled towards Sundhara and Lagankhel.[break]
The chariot stays for a couple of days in Lagankhel where locals flock to worship the god. As part of the festival, the local guthi members throw a coconut from the chariot towards the crowd and people scramble to grab it as they consider it a blessing, said Rai.
Guthi office is responsible to supervise the festival, whereas the Lalitpur folks from different toles of ancient Patan lead the Machhindranath chariot procession.
The Machhindranath legend says that the procession once rescued the Kathmandu Valley from severe drought. It is believed that the Lichhavi King Narendra Dev brought the idol of Rato Machhindranath from Assam in India to rid his country of the drought.
The chariot consists of a large wooden edifice of about 32 m in height and 4.5 m in diameter. The edifice built in the mountain structure houses various reincarnations of Rato Machhindranath and other Hindu deities. The locals start preparations for the festival one month in advance.
In Newari culture, the building of chariot is the sole responsibility of Jyapu community. As per the local tradition, the chariot should be built with wood and the use of nails or any other metal hooks are completely prohibited. Making of the Rato Macchhindranath chariot is a centuries-old affair.
The month-long procession concludes after the chariot crosses the Bungamati River in Lalitpur where another festival called Bhoto Jatra is held.
Bhoto Jatra is symbolically celebrated to find the owner of a vest gifted to a farmer of Lalitpur by a serpent.
Rato Machhindranath is also known by the names such as Padampani, Lokeswar, Avalokiteswar, Aryavalokotiswar and Karunamaya.
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Rato Machhindranath's chariot procession begins today
