Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur: The temple of Taleju Bhawani, the centre of historical and religious faith in Bhaktapur, has been opened for worship since this morning.

This temple is opened to all on the day of Maha Navami every year. Due to the belief that the goddess Taleju Bhawani appears on the day of Mahanawami, the devotees throng the temple throughout the day.

The legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla used to play tripasha with Taleju Bhavani in the seventeenth century and Jayaprakash cast an evil eye on her.

It is believed that after the king’s apology, Taleju promised to come only once a year, so he appears in the temple every year on the day of Mahanawami.

According to another legend, Taleju Bhawani, who played the same tripasha, is said to have entered the girl’s body as a virgin. Since then, Kumari has been worshipped as a solitary Kumari in Bhaktapur.

The tradition of worshipping Kumari first started from Bhaktapur and later expanded to Kathmandu and Lalitpur, according to Narendra Prasad Joshi, the chief priest of Taleju Temple. On the occasion of Bijaya Dashami, there is a tradition of receiving tika from the hands of the living goddess Kumari on Thursday.