Taleju Bhawani : The Temple Which Opens Only Once A Year
Taleju Bhawani
Taleju Bhawani Temple is a temple located in the Kathmandu Valley. The tradition of worshiping Taleju Bhavani is also found in other places including Kathmandu Valley. In the 14th century, King Harihar Singh Dev of Simraungadh rescued Tulja Bhavani from the Muslims and established him in Bhaktapur. The name Taleju is derived from the corruption of Tulja. After Bhaktapur, there are magnificent temples of Taleju inside the ancient palaces of Kathmandu, Patan and Kirtipur respectively.
The kings who ruled in Nepal have considered Tulja Bhavani as their favorite goddess. The historic Taleju Bhawani temple was opened to the public on Monday. Every year, the Taleju temple is opened to the public only on the day of Mahanavami. Due to the belief that Taleju Bhavani would appear in the temple on the day of Mahanavami, the visitors had been hungry since morning.
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In the seventeenth century, there is a legend that King Jayaprakash Malla used to play Tripasa with Taleju Bhavani. According to legend, Taleju Bhavani disappeared after King Jayaprakash looked at her with evil eyes. After the king cried a lot apologizing, Taleju promised to come only once a year, so every year on the day of Mahanavami, people sneeze with the belief that Taleju Bhavani will appear in his temple.
According to another legend, Taleju Bhavani, who plays Tripasa, entered the girl’s body as a virgin. Since then, the virgin has been worshiped as a solitary virgin. The practice of worshiping virgins first started from Bhaktapur. Later, it spread to Kathmandu and Lalitpur, said Narendra Prasad Joshi, the original protagonist of Taleju.
