Description
Sanskriti (Cultural Practice) is a macro encompassing the history and culture of people belonging to a particular tribe or race. It contains directives about religion, rituals, civilization, faiths, beliefs contains directives about religion, rituals, civilization, faiths, beliefs, phatic expressions & daily life. Our sages, philosophers and ancestors have always defined sanskriti according to the society and culture of their times and contexts. It is believed that sanskriti itself is the fundamental basis of our lives (Dharaänd sanskriti ityahoo). Sanskriti brings light and inspiration into our life and plays an important role in daily activities and progress. Sanskriti is not just a word in a dictionary but a galaxy of lights and great thoughts and expressions. Every sanskriti in the world has its own importance and provides identity to its followers. This is the same for Nepali culture. Nepali sanskriti respects cultures of all communities, making Nepalis open-minded and democratic in their attitudes, and this is the reason it has flourished.
This book aims to highlight and introduce precisely these dimensions of Nepali sanskriti. The author Durga Shakya is an expert on the subject. She has deeply researched and experienced the very act of protecting and giving continuity to the culture of worshipping the living Goddess Kumari, one of the rarest and most precious cultural practices in the world. This book is a result of her studies, her passion and her bhakti, or devotion. This is why I think this book has such great research and cultural value and I am very grateful to her for writing it. I am sure it will be a great help to those who want to know about and research this essentially Nepali tradition of worshipping the living Goddess Kumari. This book introduces our sanskriti and the history of our civilization in the most reliable and honest way. It also contains those important messages and values that reflect the great heritage of our civilization and the achievement of our ancestors.
Durga Shakya has spent a great deal of energy and devotion preparing this book. Since the sanskriti of worshipping the ishtadevi Tulaja and Tulaja Bhawani has a long history, there are several cultural and spiritual directives and methods of conducting and practicing the puja or prayer. This book traces the modus operandi of worshipping the Goddess Kumari in its changing and continuous forms. It also introduces, defines, explains and demonstrates the various cultural and spiritual aspects of worshipping the living Goddess Kumari.
This book contains a genealogical history of Tulaja Bhawani’s arrival in Nepal, and charts the phases of the tradition of her worship that has come to settle in Nepal. The book also traces the origin of Kanya Kumari and upashana, or modes and manners of conducting fasting and puja in honour of Tulaja, and the culture of worshipping the living Goddess Kumari, and other issues related to other aspects of the Goddess such as Lakshmi, Shree Lakshmi and Gaja Lakshmi and others dated to the B.C. era and past cultural contexts. It contains photos of the images of various aspects of Lakshmi and also paintings of these goddesses.
This book is sure to set a canon in the domain of research on Newar culture, and will certainly be a great help to students, researchers and scholars. I am confident this book will be read and appreciated by people from numerous fields.
We once again request those interested in the ishtadevi Tulaja and Tulaja Bhawani to read this book and draw from it not only knowledge but also blessings from the Living Goddess.
This book is definitely going to be very popular and useful for readers of all kinds. I wish Durga Shakya all the best for the future and in her research and publications to come.
Shubham Bhavatu – all the very best to her!
Badri Lal Shrestha
Advisor
Kumari Publication
