On Vijaya Dashami in Bhaktapur, local people received auspicious tika, jamara and prasad from the hands of living goddess Ekkanta Kumari Lunibha Bajracharya at Taleju. The ritual began with Lunibha applying tika, after which Taleju’s main priest, the Naike, Joshi, Karmacharya, Guru and Purohit received tika from the Kumari. Taleju was also brought into the Devagriha, or temple sanctum, as part of the occasion.
Tika offered to local people
The observance brought the living goddess and local people together at Taleju for the Vijaya Dashami tika ceremony. Participants received tika, jamara and prasad from Lunibha, with the Kumari personally applying the auspicious mark. The shared items were part of the blessing offered to those who came to receive them.
The sequence placed the Kumari’s role at the centre of the ceremony. Lunibha first applied tika, and the observance then continued with the Taleju religious officials receiving tika from her. The account identifies the recipients as the main priest, known as the Naike, along with the Joshi, Karmacharya, Guru and Purohit.
The reported order is a notable detail of the event: the Kumari performed the initial tika application before the temple’s named religious functionaries received tika. Local people also received the ceremonial offerings from her hands. The account does not specify how many people attended or how long the ritual lasted.
Taleju brought into the Devagriha
Taleju was brought into the Devagriha, the temple sanctum, on Vijaya Dashami. This formed another part of the occasion alongside the distribution of tika, jamara and prasad. The observances at Taleju thus included both the public blessing by the Kumari and the movement of Taleju into the sanctum.
Together, these reported details describe the ceremony’s main elements without separating them from the day’s religious setting: Lunibha offered tika, temple functionaries received it from her, local people received tika and other offerings, and Taleju was taken into the Devagriha. The account places all of these events at Taleju in Bhaktapur on Vijaya Dashami.
The ceremony also involved a number of distinct participants and roles. Lunibha was identified as the living goddess Ekkanta Kumari, while the Naike, Joshi, Karmacharya, Guru and Purohit were named among those who received tika after her initial offering. The report describes these steps as part of the observance at Taleju, while providing no further details about the individual officials or the wider programme of rituals.
For local people who came to Taleju, the opportunity to receive tika, jamara and prasad from the Kumari was the public-facing part of the event. The accompanying observance involving the temple functionaries and Taleju’s entry into the Devagriha marked the other reported elements of Vijaya Dashami there. The ceremony was centred on the acts described: the Kumari applying tika, the subsequent blessings for the named officials and local people, and Taleju being brought into the sanctum.
