Living goddess passes ‘Iron Gate’ test
An extraordinary 15-year-old girl, who never went to school after being chosen as a “Kumari” or “Living Goddess” of Nepal revered by thousands of Hindus and Buddhists, has created history by becoming the first goddess to pass the tough school-leaving examination that leaves thousands floundering every year. Chanira Bajracharya, one of the three “Kumaris” of Kathmandu valley, became even more God-like in the eyes of people on Saturday after the results of the dreaded School Leaving Certificate examination were declared and she was announced to have passed with “distinction”, having secured over 80 per cent marks.
Chanira, the Kumari of Lalitpur city, becomes the first reigning living goddess to have passed Nepal’s “Iron Gate” examination. It is an extraordinary feat considering that out of the over 385,000 students who took the examination, only 64.31 per cent made the grade. In Chanira’s case it is even more extraordinary considering that she never went to school and wrote her test from her official “sacred” chamber in her intricate official robes. The Kumaris, regarded as the incarnation of a Hindu goddess of power, Taleju Bhavani, are selected from a Buddhist community on the basis of 32 auspicious signs, which in the past included having a horoscope compatible with that of the king of Nepal. The Kumaris were also regarded as the protectors of the royal family and the only living beings before whom the monarch humbled himself by bowing down. Chanira, like her peers and predecessors, lives in her own palace where her movements are restricted.
The Kumaris are not allowed to walk on the ground and are either carried or tread on a red carpet. Though the teen was enrolled in the Bhasara Secondary School, she never went there to attend classes. Instead, her teachers came to her palace to coach her.
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