The Tale Of Indra Jatra

In the Kathmandu Valley during September, the Nepalese celebrate one of the truly great festivals -- Indra Jatra -- for eight days. Like most Nepalese festivals, it also has a legend connected with God, in this case the story of the Lord Indra, god of rain and the king of heaven.

According to legend, Lord Indra descended to this valley in the appearance of a simple man to obtain a special flower for his mother's fasting day -- the Parijat, or coral tree flower, which abounded there but was not to be found in heaven.

Indra, meanwhile, was caught red-handed by the people of the valley, who were unaware of his divinity and punished him for the act of stealing their flowers, by binding his arms and feet with ropes, much as they would a thief.

They held him prisoner in the locality of Maru Hiti in old Kathmandu, according to legend.

Meanwhile, in heaven, his mother, Basundhara, came to know that her son was in trouble in the valley. Furious, she sent down a troop of heavenly gods to fight against his captors. These gods, masquerading as Bhairab, the terrible and blood-thirsty ones, set Indra free by winning the war against the people.

Then a banner was hoisted as a symbol of victory over the valley. Meanwhile, the valley's people learned the true identity of their visitors and prisoner, whereupon they fell down before the gods with profuse offerings of food and flowers.

The people of the valley held a lavish feast and reception in their honor and invited the guests to stay in the valley for a week, which Indra agreed to.

As he was accustomed to enjoying glamorously voluptuous dances by celestial women, a dance was arranged in the square for his pleasure every evening for a whole week. A lake was dug for him to bathe in, situated on a hilltop eight miles west of the square, according to the mythological sources.

A few days later, Basundhara promised to furnish the valley with fog and dew during autumn and winter as moisture for ripening their crops in compensation for her son's release. She further agreed to lead back to heaven the souls of all who had died during the year. As she left the valley, she took all the souls to heaven.

Since then, the festival of Indra Jatra is celebrated every year in Kathmandu.

for full story: http://praminosiris.blogspot.com/2014/09…