Young girls were worshipped as Kumaris at the historic Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square in Kathmandu on Thursday as part of Indra Jatra celebrations.

The group Kumari puja was held in front of the Taleju Bhawani Temple, a day after the ceremonial pole known as the lingo was erected, following a long-standing Indra Jatra tradition.

The ritual is performed according to Vedic practices for girls who have not yet begun menstruation. Devotees believe that performing Kumari puja brings peace, prosperity and wellbeing, and protects the girls from illness and other harm.

Among the Newar community, girls aged between 2 and 8 who have not undergone Ihi, a traditional symbolic marriage ceremony in which a girl is ritually wed to a wood apple (bel) fruit, are worshipped as Kumaris during the ritual.

As part of the ceremony, the participating girls are taken around the Taleju Bhawani Temple at Hanuman Dhoka and worshipped at the temple’s main shrine. Devotees believe that the goddess Taleju protects the girls who take part in the Kumari puja.