"local groups"

#13858697

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858698

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858699

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858700

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858701

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858702

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858703

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858705

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858707

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858708

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858710

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858713

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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#13858715

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
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#13858717

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
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#13858719

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
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#13858721

20 Jun 2026

Nepali devotees light haystacks and carry straw torches as they participate in the procession welcoming the idol of the Rato Machhindranath Festival back to Bungamati, Lalitpur, on June 20, 2026, after the completion of Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel. The ritual marks the final return journey of the rain deity to his temple, with fires lit along the route, especially near the Nakkhu bridge, as a symbolic gesture of devotion, purification, and protection. The procession is part of one of the longest and most significant Newar festivals in the Kathmandu Valley, where the towering wooden chariot of Rato Machhindranath is pulled through historic settlements including Pulchowk, Gabahal, Mangal Bazaar, Lagankhel, and Bungamati, requiring coordinated effort from local guthis and community groups. The festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, the ceremonial display of the sacred jewel-studded vest (bhoto), a ritual rooted in legend. According to oral tradition, the bhoto is linked to serpent king Karkotak, who rewarded a farmer for curing the queen's eye ailment. After a dispute over ownership, the vest was entrusted to Machhindranath and has been publicly displayed each year for anyone with proof of ownership to claim it. Despite centuries of tradition, no claimant has ever successfully established ownership.

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Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
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