page_title: Kumari (goddess)
section_title: List of Kumaris
hierarchical_section_title: Kumari (goddess) / List of Kumaris
caption_attribution_description: English: Kumari Devi ("Living goddess") of Kathmandu
context_page_description: Kumari, or Kumari Devi, or Living Goddess – Nepal, is the tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or devi in Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions. The word Kumari is derived from the Sanskrit Kaumarya, meaning "Young".
  In Nepal, a Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the Nepalese Newari Buddhist community. The Kumari is revered and worshiped by some of the country's Hindus.
  While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, and she lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous. As of 2017, the Royal Kumari is Trishna Shakya, aged three, installed in September 2017 by the Maoist government that replaced the monarchy. Unika Bajracharya, selected in April 2014 as the Kumari of Patan, is the second most important living goddess.
  A Kumari is generally chosen for one day and worshiped accordingly on certain festivals like Navaratri or Durga Puja. In Kathmandu Valley, this is a particularly prevalent practice.
caption: Kumari Devi, Kathmandu, March 2007
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "FinePix F10", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Camera FinePix F10     Ver1.02", "Image DateTime": "2005:03:29 03:32:05", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "354", "Image CustomRendered": "Normal", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "Image Sharpness": "Normal", "Image SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1252", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8185", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:03:29 03:32:05", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:03:29 03:32:05", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "33/5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "23/5", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "-163/100", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "24", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2136", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2848", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3703", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3703", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}