A House for the Living Goddess: On the Dual Identity of the Kumari Chen in Kathmandu

Abstract

In 2007, during the course of planning the 250th anniversary celebrations of the inauguration of the Kumari Chen—the house of the ‘Living Goddess’ in Kathmandu's Durbar Square—a new document came to light, which recorded significant alterations made to the building only four years after its foundation. This paper shows how these changes affected the Kumari Chen's identity, transforming it from a building originally designed for royal Hindu Tantric worship to a building with dual purpose, where separate Hindu and Buddhist Tantric worship could take place under the same roof. Taking into account the historical context in which the Kumari Chen was established, this paper explores the purpose for which the building was created by the last Malla king of Kathmandu and identifies motives for the subsequent alterations, shedding light on the relationship between Newar Buddhists and their Hindu king in a time of unprecedented crisis.