Indra Jatra

 

              Indra Jatra

Introduction

Indra refers to the god king of heaven as well as the god of rain whereas Jatra means the festival so the overall concept of Indra Jatra is the festival which is meant for honoring Indra god, his mother Basundhara, living goddess Kumari, Ganesh, Bhairav and so on. Indra Jatra is mainly celebrated by the original local of Kathmandu i.e people from Newar community and is observed in Kathmandu. Indra Jatra falls on September but the day can be different as it is celebrated according to the Newar calendar.
It is 8 days festival which is meant for different celebration and occasion. Kumari jastra, lakhay dance are the most attractive and important event that takes place in Indra Jatra.

                                                 ( source-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indra_Jatra

History of god Indra and Kathmandu

God of heaven Indra used to pick flowers during the time when his mother Basundhara performs grant puja since childhood and he never neglected in that duty. Once while he was traveling through Kathmandu he saw a beautiful Parijat tree (Night -Jasmine) as he was already late to pick flowers for puja he then decided to puck flower so he took human form and began to fill the basket with flowers without permission but was seen by people and he was accused of stealing flowers. People capture him and didn't let him escape but her mother began to search Indra as he was nowhere to be found, she saw Indra's elephant without indra. Both elephant and Basundhara began to search Indra and finally found the place where Indra was tied up by local people. Indra's mother reveals their true identity and requested people to release her son. People then decided to release Indra which make Basundhara pleased so she promises to rise mist/cloud to make dewdrops which is helpful for the crops so since then Indra Jatra is also a day to honor God Indra and his mother Basundhara.

 

How Indra Jatra is celebrated?

Indra Jatra is one of the most important festival of Newar community which is celebrated for more than a week. Indra Jatra begins from Dwadashi and ends in Chaturthi (both are the tithis which is important when it comes to any festival or death anniversary in Nepal). Indra Jatra was started in 10th century by king Gunakadeva whereas Kumari jatra began to be celebrated in the same day since mid-18th century and was started by Jaya Prakash Malla. Indra Jatra is started to perform from Basantapur, Hanumandhoka when the linga, (religious pole) is erected with the help of rope by many people. It must be erected straight and is dragged towards the venue place and a final destination which is Durbar Square of Kathmandu where biggest Bhairav masked is placed. Another great event that takes place during Indra Jastra is Kumari Jatra where the living goddess Kumari is kept in a chariot and chariot of Ganesh and Bhairav follow Kumari's Chariot which is taken to different historical temple of Kathmandu and finally reaches to Durbar Square. Rath Yatra is accompanied by many people along with masked dancers wearing different masks and musicians playing Flute, drum, Madal, etc and group of people Walking with incense, puja material. Lakhay dance is also the most attention captivating event that takes place, lakhay dance is taken as one of the popular dances as far. A person in long attire with a face mask performs a dance being free which is called as a lakhay dance. Indra Jatra celebration ends in Durbar Square when special puja of linga, Bhairav is done. It is only a day when biggest Bhairav masked that is kept in durbar square is shown to public.

Conclusion

Indra Jatra is very important festival of Newar community and the Nepal which has carried out both social and cultural importance as well as value for the protection of Nepalese festival. Indra Jatra is such a great festival where we could see Kumari jatra, lakhay dance, Bhairav masked, erected linga, and many more. Newar community celebrates each festival with same enthusiasm, faith, dedication which is also a reason for the festivals to be protected without any compromise. Many festivals were started during Rana, Malla, Shah regime which are followed till now which is one of the great deeds that are done as being a citizen of Nepal