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Indra Jatra Festival The Festival of Classical Dances

Indra Jatra Festival

The Festival of Classical Dances

Indra Jatra festivalHindus and Buddhists, both communities come together to celebrate the festival of Indra Jatra. Indra Jatra is a delightful festival of classical dances. Numerous varieties of traditional dances can be observed on the occasion this festival. Name of the festival goes after Lord Indra who is the god of rain and also as the king of heaven according to Hindu mythology.

Fast Facts
MonthAugust/September
Reason of CelebrationTo appease Hindu god Indra
Period of Celebration8 days
Famous ForClassical and masked dances perfomed
Special EventsProcession of Living Goddess Mahakali and Mahalaxmi with Dasha Avatara

Celebration
Given below is information regarding what rituals take place on each of the day.

Day 1-2
A long wooden pole is placed in front of the Royal Palace at Hanuman Dhoka, in order to propitiate Lord Indra. Classical dancers also gather at the spot, wearing different kinds of traditional attires. They dance around the courtyard of Hanuman Dhoka to celebrate God Indra's arrival.

Day 3-6
On the third day of the festival of Indra Jatra, the living goddess Kumari ventures out in a chariot in the procession. Kumari, is said to be an incarnation of the goddess Taleju. Chariots of Kumari, Ganesha and Bhairav move around the city for three days. According to Hindu faith Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He is believed has the head of an elephant. Bhairav is one of the forms of Lord Shiva.

Day 7
The King of Nepal, the only Hindu monarch in the world, also pays homage to the Kumari during this period. Intriguing dances are staged in Kathmandu Durbar Square, in the neighborhood of the Kumari Temple. 'Dasha Avataras' are also enacted by the artists. The 'Dasha Avataras' refer to the ten incarnations of Hindu Lord Vishnu who is one of the Hindus' Holy trinity, the supreme powers. 

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Embassies of Nepal

Embassies of Nepal A Australia Address:  Suite 2.02, 24-Marcus Clarke Street Canberra City, ACT 2601 Australia Telephone:  0061 (02) 6162 1554 / 1556 Fax:  0061 (02) 6162 1557 Country Code:  0061 E-Mail:  embassyofnepal@grapevine.com.au, nepalembassy@bigpond.com  Web:  www.necan.gov.np B Belgium Address:  Avenue Brugmann-210 1050 Brussels, Belgium Telephone:  00 32 2 346 2658 Fax:  00 32 2 344 1361 Country Code:  00 32 E-Mail:  embn@skynet.be  Web:  http://www.nepalembassy.de/embn@skynet.be Bangladesh Address:  United Nations Road, Road No 2 Baridhara, Diplomatic enclave, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Telephone:  880-2-601-790/890, 602 091 Fax:  880-2-882-6401 Country Code:  880 E-Mail:  eondhaka@dbn-bd.net  C China Address:  No 1, xi Liu Jie, Sanlitun Lu, Beijing 100600, People's Republic of China Telephone:  0086-10-6532-1795 Fax:  0086-10-6532-3251 Country Cod...