For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/av1YBKumari, or Kumari Devi is a living Hindu goddess in Nepal. Kumari literally means virgin in Nepali. A Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the Nepalese Newari community. The Kumari is revered and worshipped by the country's Hindus as well as the Nepali Buddhists, though not the Tibetan Buddhists. A Kumari is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury are also causes for her to revert to common status. Eligible girls must be in excellent health, never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the battis lakshanas, or 'thirty-two perfections' of a goddess. Some of these are poetically listed as such: A neck like a conch shell A body like a banyan tree Eyelashes like a cow Thighs like a deer Chest like a lion Voice soft and clear as a duck's In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be very black, she should have dainty hands and feet, small and well-recessed sexual organs and a set of forty teeth. The girl is also observed for signs of serenity and fearlessness (after all, she is to be the vessel of the fierce goddess Durga) and her horoscope is examined to ensure that it is complementary to the King's. Once the priests have chosen a candidate, she must undergo yet more rigorous tests to ensure that she indeed possesses the qualities necessary to be the living vessel of Durga. Her greatest test comes during the Hindu festival of Dashain. On the kalratri, or 'black night', 108 buffaloes and goats are sacrificed to the goddess Kali. The young candidate is taken into the Taleju temple and released into the courtyard, where the severed heads of the animals are illuminated by candlelight and masked men are dancing about. If the candidate truly possesses the qualities of Taleju, she shows no fear during this experience. If she does not, another candidate is brought in to attempt the same thing. Lastly, the candidate must be able to pick out the personal effects of the previous Kumari from an assortment of things laid out before. If she is able to do so, there is no remaining doubt that she is the chosen one....
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