SATV 1 Jun, Kathmandu: Bhoto Jatra, one of the most celebrated festivals of the Kathmandu Valley, is being celebrated today as concerned officials will display the sacred vest (bhoto) of Rato Machhindranath, the god of rain and good harvest at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. 

Until about 800 years ago, they referred to Bhoto Jatra as Jawalakhel Jatra. According to Kirtimadan Joshi, former member of the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Bikas Samiti, the name comes from the Newar words “Ja” meaning rice and “Wala”, meaning to scatter. "People believed this festival was held to offer food to spirits and ghosts," he explained.

Historians have yet to determine the exact origin date of Bhoto Jatra. However, Joshi said devotees began the chariot procession of Machindranath around 1,300 years ago. As the legend goes, shortly after the procession started, the queen of the serpent king Karkotak developed an eye ailment. While searching for a healer, Karkotak mistook a farmer working in the fields for a physician and brought him to Taudaha.

Frightened, the farmer prayed to Machhindranath and rubbed his hands on the soil to make an herbal paste. He offered it to Karkotak as medicine, and the paste cured the queen's eyes. Grateful, Karkotak rewarded the farmer with a jewel-studded vest (bhoto) and returned him to the human world. The farmer began wearing the bhoto while working in his fields.

One day, a ghost in human form stole the vest. The farmer searched everywhere but could not find it. Later, while attending the Machhindranath chariot festival, he saw the ghost wearing the same vest and claimed it as his. When the ghost refused to return it, a dispute broke out. People summoned Karkotak to resolve the conflict. In the end, because neither party could prove ownership, they entrusted the bhoto to Machhindranath.

Since then, devotees have followed the tradition of displaying the bhoto after the chariot procession, hoping that someone with valid proof of ownership will come forward. Each year, they display the sacred vest on an auspicious date. According to legend, no one has succeeded in proving ownership of the bhoto so far.

In recent years, representatives from the Guthi Sansthan in Lalitpur have displayed the bhoto in the presence of the head of state. To mark the occasion, the government has declared a public holiday in the Kathmandu Valley today.