One of the most significant festivals in Patan, Rato Machhindranath Jatra, also known as Karunamaya and Bunga Dyah, is finally coming to an end with the celebration of Bhoto Jatra this Sunday. It is the longest running chariot festival in Nepal. The festival commences with the construction of a 32 feet high chariot made out of cane, bamboo and wood in Pulchowk, Lalitpur. With the help of big wheels, the chariot is pulled by two strong ropes to keep its balance while it gets tugged around the city. The procession begins from the place where it’s built and slowly starts circling the city via Natole, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Sundhara, Lagankhel, Kumaripati before ending at Jawalakhel. After Bhoto Jatra, Rato Machhindranath is returned to the temple of Bungamati where it will stay for the next six months. The chariot is also taken apart.

Out of many popular stories of how the Jatra started one goes like this:

Guru Gorakhnath, one of the two disciples of Machhindranath, once came to Patan, but, no one knew his true identity and he was not welcomed and not given any meals. He found that the Nags (serpents) are considered as the main source of the rain in the valley. So in anger, he captured them and went on for meditation. While the nags were in captivity, they could not bring rain, resulting in a severe drought in the valley. So, the advisors of the King Narendra Dev asked him to bring Machhindranath, teacher of Gorakhnath from Assam in hopes to end the drought. When Gorakhnath heard that his teacher was in Patan, he decided to visit him, setting the serpents free. The valley had plenty of rain after that. And, being thankful to Machhindranath, the locals started to worship him for saving them from drought.

Video by: photographynepal.com

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