"practice symbolizes"

#13132872

27 December 2025

Chhinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika or Chhinnamasta Kali, is a Hindu goddess symbolizing both aspects of Devi - a life-giver and a life-taker. The Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta holds significant importance in both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is known as Chinnamunda or Trikaya-vajrayogini. She embodies contradictions, representing sexual self-control and energy. The self-decapitated nude goddess usually stands or sits on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Here, the Chhinnamasta goddess is worshipped with the playing of dhak, drums, and shehnai (a type of wind instrument) in a temple in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on December 25, 2025.

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#13132874

27 December 2025

Chhinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika or Chhinnamasta Kali, is a Hindu goddess symbolizing both aspects of Devi - a life-giver and a life-taker. The Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta holds significant importance in both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is known as Chinnamunda or Trikaya-vajrayogini. She embodies contradictions, representing sexual self-control and energy. The self-decapitated nude goddess usually stands or sits on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Here, the Chhinnamasta goddess is worshipped with the playing of dhak, drums, and shehnai (a type of wind instrument) in a temple in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on December 25, 2025.

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#13132877

27 December 2025

Chhinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika or Chhinnamasta Kali, is a Hindu goddess symbolizing both aspects of Devi - a life-giver and a life-taker. The Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta holds significant importance in both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is known as Chinnamunda or Trikaya-vajrayogini. She embodies contradictions, representing sexual self-control and energy. The self-decapitated nude goddess usually stands or sits on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Here, the Chhinnamasta goddess is worshipped with the playing of dhak, drums, and shehnai (a type of wind instrument) in a temple in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on December 25, 2025.

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#13132878

27 December 2025

Chhinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika or Chhinnamasta Kali, is a Hindu goddess symbolizing both aspects of Devi - a life-giver and a life-taker. The Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta holds significant importance in both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is known as Chinnamunda or Trikaya-vajrayogini. She embodies contradictions, representing sexual self-control and energy. The self-decapitated nude goddess usually stands or sits on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Here, the Chhinnamasta goddess is worshipped with the playing of dhak, drums, and shehnai (a type of wind instrument) in a temple in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on December 25, 2025.

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#13132879

27 December 2025

Chhinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika or Chhinnamasta Kali, is a Hindu goddess symbolizing both aspects of Devi - a life-giver and a life-taker. The Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta holds significant importance in both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is known as Chinnamunda or Trikaya-vajrayogini. She embodies contradictions, representing sexual self-control and energy. The self-decapitated nude goddess usually stands or sits on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Here, the Chhinnamasta goddess is worshipped with the playing of dhak, drums, and shehnai (a type of wind instrument) in a temple in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on December 25, 2025.

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#13132905

27 December 2025

Chhinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika or Chhinnamasta Kali, is a Hindu goddess symbolizing both aspects of Devi - a life-giver and a life-taker. The Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta holds significant importance in both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is known as Chinnamunda or Trikaya-vajrayogini. She embodies contradictions, representing sexual self-control and energy. The self-decapitated nude goddess usually stands or sits on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Here, the Chhinnamasta goddess is worshipped with the playing of dhak, drums, and shehnai (a type of wind instrument) in a temple in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on December 25, 2025.

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#12895775

22 October 2025

Colorful mandaps are prepared for the Mha Puja festival, a ritual of self-worship celebrated by the Newar community in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 22, 2025. Mha Puja, observed on the fourth day of the Tihar festival and the New Year according to the Nepal Sambat calendar, is performed to purify and empower the self, seeking prosperity, longevity, and spiritual well-being. During the ritual, each family member sits before an intricately made mandap -- a sacred design created on the floor using lentils, rice flour, flowers, and oil lamps -- symbolizing the soul and inner energy of the individual.

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#12895777

22 October 2025

Colorful mandaps are prepared for the Mha Puja festival, a ritual of self-worship celebrated by the Newar community in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 22, 2025. Mha Puja, observed on the fourth day of the Tihar festival and the New Year according to the Nepal Sambat calendar, is performed to purify and empower the self, seeking prosperity, longevity, and spiritual well-being. During the ritual, each family member sits before an intricately made mandap -- a sacred design created on the floor using lentils, rice flour, flowers, and oil lamps -- symbolizing the soul and inner energy of the individual.

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#12895778

22 October 2025

Colorful mandaps are prepared for the Mha Puja festival, a ritual of self-worship celebrated by the Newar community in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 22, 2025. Mha Puja, observed on the fourth day of the Tihar festival and the New Year according to the Nepal Sambat calendar, is performed to purify and empower the self, seeking prosperity, longevity, and spiritual well-being. During the ritual, each family member sits before an intricately made mandap -- a sacred design created on the floor using lentils, rice flour, flowers, and oil lamps -- symbolizing the soul and inner energy of the individual.

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#12895779

22 October 2025

Colorful mandaps are prepared for the Mha Puja festival, a ritual of self-worship celebrated by the Newar community in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 22, 2025. Mha Puja, observed on the fourth day of the Tihar festival and the New Year according to the Nepal Sambat calendar, is performed to purify and empower the self, seeking prosperity, longevity, and spiritual well-being. During the ritual, each family member sits before an intricately made mandap -- a sacred design created on the floor using lentils, rice flour, flowers, and oil lamps -- symbolizing the soul and inner energy of the individual.

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#12888120

20 October 2025

Butter lamps, known as ''diyos,'' glow during Laxmi Puja celebrations in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 20, 2025. A diyo is a traditional oil lamp, typically made of clay or metal, with a cotton wick soaked in oil or ghee. Lighting diyos is an integral part of the Tihar festival, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness as devotees worship Goddess Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

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#12821243

2 October 2025

A clay idol of Lord Ganesha is carried to the river as Hindu devotees immerse a clay idol of Goddess Durga in the Buriganga River on the final day of the Durga Puja festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on October 2, 2025. The immersion marks the conclusion of the five-day celebration, symbolizing the goddess's departure to her heavenly abode.

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#12812390

30 September 2025

Trishna Shakya, the retired Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, is carried back to her home in a palanquin amid a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 30, 2025. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherits the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she lives within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering of the monarch.

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#12812398

30 September 2025

Two-and-a-half-year-old Aryatara Shakya, in red regalia, is escorted to the Taleju Bhawani Temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square, Nepal, on September 30, 2025, to formally anoint her as the new Royal Kumari, the living goddess of Nepal. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherited the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she has to live within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering.

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#12812399

30 September 2025

Two-and-a-half-year-old Aryatara Shakya, in red regalia, is escorted to the Taleju Bhawani Temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square, Nepal, on September 30, 2025, to formally anoint her as the new Royal Kumari, the living goddess of Nepal. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherited the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she has to live within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering.

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#12812400

30 September 2025

Trishna Shakya, the retired Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, is carried back to her home in a palanquin amid a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 30, 2025. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherits the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she lives within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering of the monarch.

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