29/04/2021
Manamaiju indrayenimai jatra
Every year, near the end of Chaitra (March. April), or the beginning of Baisakh (April/May), a five-day festival known as Mana Maiju Jatra, is held, during which palanquins carrying figures of the goddess and other gods are paraded around town. It is the most important festival of the area, and is participated in by the entire populace of Tarkeshwor with great enthusiasm. Now, there is a myth regarding the origin of the name of the village. It goes like this: One day, in the Lichhavi period, King Guna Kamdev went hunting in Nagarjuna forest, and decided to spend the night there. Goddess Mana Maiju Devi (a.k.a. Ajima and Indrayani) appeared in his dream, and commanded him to hold a jatra in her honor on Chaitra Shukla Purnima (full moon day of Chaitra). By doing so, she would fulfill his ambitions. The king surveyed the surrounding area from the Nagarjuna hill, and espied a small temple among thorny brambles and swamps on a hilltop. He cleared a way to it and observed a four-day festival. On the fifth day, he found a jewelry-studded bhoto (upper body garment) left by the goddess as a memento, which he displayed to the onlookers. From that moment onwards, he named the village Manamaiju.
