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From Goddess To Mortal: The True Life Story of Kumari
Shows a combination of innocence and power as reflected through the narratives the Rashmila Shakya.
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 15, 2016
When I was in eighth grade, our English class read Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" (if you haven't ever read it, it's here: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/...). We read the story out loud, and upon completion our teacher asked a shocked room of students for their take on what the story had to say. I've never been able to forget that first reading and the impact it's had on me: cultures that are foreign to us can do some things that seem odd, immoral or even insane to us - but to them it all a part of their "given" fabric.
In November of last year my wife and I were in Nepal and our tour guide took us to visit the temple of the Royal Kumari. We were shocked as we learned that their culture believed that a goddess indwells the body of a young girl, who is chosen and separated from her family for a period of roughly eight years (4ish to 12ish years old). This child is not allowed out of the royal building (which looked to be more of a prison) except for several festivals during the year, where she is carried around the city (her feet are never allowed to touch the ground outside of the royal grounds). My wife and I just couldn't believe it. The more we heard about this custom the more it sounded like hell for a little girl - separated from her family for 8 years, thrown back into the world as a pre-teen with little/no education and zero social skills (after all, she had been worshiped for eight years - how bad would that mess someone up?) It was the first time I had come across a real world example of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" - complete bafflement at another culture's practices which seemed inhumane and crazy.
Rashmila Shakya's book shed light on the culture and the world of the Kumari that helped me to better understand something that was almost completely mystifying to my Western mind. I still feel very sorry for the girls who become the Kumaris, but as Rashmila explains, it isn't the worst fate for a girl in such a poor country. This is why traveling the world is so important - getting to experience places and people that are so different from you helps to increase understanding, gets us out of our comfort zones and makes us appreciate how wonderful and diverse the planet is. Even if you don't ever make it to Kathmandu, this book is a nice quick read into a cultural phenomenon which helps to understand a different part of the world.
In November of last year my wife and I were in Nepal and our tour guide took us to visit the temple of the Royal Kumari. We were shocked as we learned that their culture believed that a goddess indwells the body of a young girl, who is chosen and separated from her family for a period of roughly eight years (4ish to 12ish years old). This child is not allowed out of the royal building (which looked to be more of a prison) except for several festivals during the year, where she is carried around the city (her feet are never allowed to touch the ground outside of the royal grounds). My wife and I just couldn't believe it. The more we heard about this custom the more it sounded like hell for a little girl - separated from her family for 8 years, thrown back into the world as a pre-teen with little/no education and zero social skills (after all, she had been worshiped for eight years - how bad would that mess someone up?) It was the first time I had come across a real world example of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" - complete bafflement at another culture's practices which seemed inhumane and crazy.
Rashmila Shakya's book shed light on the culture and the world of the Kumari that helped me to better understand something that was almost completely mystifying to my Western mind. I still feel very sorry for the girls who become the Kumaris, but as Rashmila explains, it isn't the worst fate for a girl in such a poor country. This is why traveling the world is so important - getting to experience places and people that are so different from you helps to increase understanding, gets us out of our comfort zones and makes us appreciate how wonderful and diverse the planet is. Even if you don't ever make it to Kathmandu, this book is a nice quick read into a cultural phenomenon which helps to understand a different part of the world.
August 6, 2021
...it is remarkable that at the time everything seemed so normal. Women came to pray to me for the health of their children, the king came to worship me, people came from all over the world to see me, and huge crowds came out to see me at Indra Jatra, yet it just seemed part of my childhood.
This slim volume contains the recollections of Rashmila Shakya, who served as Royal Kumari of Nepal for eight years as a child. Kumari is the human incarnation of the goddess Taleju Bhawani, the patron goddess of the Newar people of Nepal, and it is an ancient tradition enshrined both politically and religiously that every several years, a young Newari girl is chosen to live apart from her family and is worshiped as a living goddess. This happened to the author at four years old.
As fascinating as I found this memoir, I wish it dove deeper into certain things. I understand that Rashmila was a child when she was Kumari and so her memory and analysis of her experiences will be shallow at times, but the whole thing seemed maddeningly surface-level. This may also be a result of my unfamiliarity with Nepali culture; though Rashmila does go out of her way to explain some things, like the origins of the Kumari tradition and the workings of the Nepali school system, she makes passing remarks about things like caste and certain superstitions that I really wanted to know more about.
Moreover, I never felt like I got a good idea of Rashmila's personality. She doesn't describe her personal life or internal world very thoroughly. The language is very simple and straightforward, mostly just telling events sequentially without much analysis, and this may be a result of how this book came to be. The cover says it is "by Rashmila Shakya as told to Scott Berry," and though we get a brief afterword from Berry describing how he met Rashmila, the process of how they wrote this remains vague. Is he just a translator? How much did he editorialise, if at all? Is this an oral history laid down on paper? I don't know the answers to any of these questions. So I'm not sure at whose feet to lay my critiques.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed learning about Kumari from the eyes of someone who lived it, and I think what I found most interesting about the tradition is the religious syncretism—the Shakya caste, from which most Kumari are chosen, is Buddhist, but Kumari is the incarnation of a Hindu goddess. So in addition to serving as a national symbol, Kumari brings together two religions and functions as a point of great pride for both. Some of the holidays and festivals Rashmila describes show a very fascinating fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism, at least in the Kathmandu Valley, that I'd love to read up on further.
____________________
Global Challenge: Nepal
This slim volume contains the recollections of Rashmila Shakya, who served as Royal Kumari of Nepal for eight years as a child. Kumari is the human incarnation of the goddess Taleju Bhawani, the patron goddess of the Newar people of Nepal, and it is an ancient tradition enshrined both politically and religiously that every several years, a young Newari girl is chosen to live apart from her family and is worshiped as a living goddess. This happened to the author at four years old.
As fascinating as I found this memoir, I wish it dove deeper into certain things. I understand that Rashmila was a child when she was Kumari and so her memory and analysis of her experiences will be shallow at times, but the whole thing seemed maddeningly surface-level. This may also be a result of my unfamiliarity with Nepali culture; though Rashmila does go out of her way to explain some things, like the origins of the Kumari tradition and the workings of the Nepali school system, she makes passing remarks about things like caste and certain superstitions that I really wanted to know more about.
Moreover, I never felt like I got a good idea of Rashmila's personality. She doesn't describe her personal life or internal world very thoroughly. The language is very simple and straightforward, mostly just telling events sequentially without much analysis, and this may be a result of how this book came to be. The cover says it is "by Rashmila Shakya as told to Scott Berry," and though we get a brief afterword from Berry describing how he met Rashmila, the process of how they wrote this remains vague. Is he just a translator? How much did he editorialise, if at all? Is this an oral history laid down on paper? I don't know the answers to any of these questions. So I'm not sure at whose feet to lay my critiques.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed learning about Kumari from the eyes of someone who lived it, and I think what I found most interesting about the tradition is the religious syncretism—the Shakya caste, from which most Kumari are chosen, is Buddhist, but Kumari is the incarnation of a Hindu goddess. So in addition to serving as a national symbol, Kumari brings together two religions and functions as a point of great pride for both. Some of the holidays and festivals Rashmila describes show a very fascinating fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism, at least in the Kathmandu Valley, that I'd love to read up on further.
____________________
Global Challenge: Nepal
November 17, 2014
Having just come from Kathmandu and seeing the current Kumari girl in Durbar Square, I was interested to know more about the tradition.
Luckily this book dispels many of the more disturbing rumours (108 buffalo heads to terrify the child, banned from seeing family, expelled at the first sign of blood).
In fact I was surprised (and disappointed) at how readily the false stories were told to visitors considering it would have been a good opportunity to correct the bad press.
Luckily this book dispels many of the more disturbing rumours (108 buffalo heads to terrify the child, banned from seeing family, expelled at the first sign of blood).
In fact I was surprised (and disappointed) at how readily the false stories were told to visitors considering it would have been a good opportunity to correct the bad press.
September 13, 2017
As a Nepali girl, I was always enticed by Kumari culture and always had this urge of knowing about Kumari cult; this book provided me a whole new insight on this subject matter. This book clears out some fallacies and rumours spread out by not-so-researched work done by some national and international media on selection procedure of Kumari.
Moreover, life of Rashmila Shakya is an example that Kumari cult is a practice worth preserving if Kumari is provided with better education and her rearing up processes. The idea of Living Goddess is intriguing per se.
Moreover, life of Rashmila Shakya is an example that Kumari cult is a practice worth preserving if Kumari is provided with better education and her rearing up processes. The idea of Living Goddess is intriguing per se.
January 30, 2021
A fantastic read to learn more of the Nepali culture especially the life and traditions of a Royal Kumari. Written by a woman who at one time was the Kumari. The stories she told about living that life and then the struggles she had to overcome after her "service" were compelling and interesting. For me, it was also a study in an east v. west cultural clash. The West crying "child abuse" and completely ignoring the cultural differences and the role the Kumari plays. I truly believe Rashmila's approach has been the best.
1. - to educate the west and deflate the rumor mill of what really happens in a Kumari's life. Turn them away from the salacious half-lies and help them understand the true nature of the Kumari.
2 - to take steps to aid all future Kumari's in their education and worth as well as preparing them to return to a world that once esteemed you to be a Goddess and then almost overnight puts you back into society as "normal." The steps she has taken and aided in are sure to help future Kumari adjust well as they acclimate back into the world. Rashimala is a hero of modern times, rightly noting the importance of tradition and culture while protecting the little girls who are "chosen" to be Kumari.
1. - to educate the west and deflate the rumor mill of what really happens in a Kumari's life. Turn them away from the salacious half-lies and help them understand the true nature of the Kumari.
2 - to take steps to aid all future Kumari's in their education and worth as well as preparing them to return to a world that once esteemed you to be a Goddess and then almost overnight puts you back into society as "normal." The steps she has taken and aided in are sure to help future Kumari adjust well as they acclimate back into the world. Rashimala is a hero of modern times, rightly noting the importance of tradition and culture while protecting the little girls who are "chosen" to be Kumari.
April 9, 2012
Sometimes life could be rough even you have been once up on the time selected to bee ass child incarnation of Goodess Kumari. Old tradition of Nepal told by Rasmila Shakya, ex Kumari.. About traditions, life in the temple during the childhood, and everything what is happen when you are over 12 and the priesthood by tradition is locking for new Kumari, alive new Goddess.
What is happennig during the time in temple and after when new life, common is as it learning to run life in normal world so different from previous. Rashmila talk with sentiments about this fine tradition so simple, without mystification..What is really happening during religious rituals..in Katmandy..She is actually abandoning many prejudices and false writings about life of alive Goddess and told what is truth.
What is happennig during the time in temple and after when new life, common is as it learning to run life in normal world so different from previous. Rashmila talk with sentiments about this fine tradition so simple, without mystification..What is really happening during religious rituals..in Katmandy..She is actually abandoning many prejudices and false writings about life of alive Goddess and told what is truth.
April 7, 2020
As someone who didn't know Kumaris existed in the world I was fascinated to learn so when I got to Nepal. I had to read a book about it (several hours on a bus demanded it) and this was the chosen one.
While not fabulously written or edited I do think it's a good book to read and get a sense of how a real person felt in such a situation.
The book shows the other side of the history told in the first person - and that is awesome!
While not fabulously written or edited I do think it's a good book to read and get a sense of how a real person felt in such a situation.
The book shows the other side of the history told in the first person - and that is awesome!
Want to read
October 19, 2013Ive been fascinated by this ever since I read about it in an article as a teenager.
September 17, 2023
Just finished the book - From Goddess to Mortal. Almost a decade back, while attending one of the chapters of JLF(Jaipur Literature Festival), I learnt about the "Kumari" tradition in Nepal and have been meaning to read some literature on it eversince. This particular book is an autobiography by Rashmila Shakya who served as a Royal Kumari between 1984-1991. While I was hoping to know more about the customs and rituals around the Kumari tradition, the book focuses more on her transition from a Kumari to a normal Nepali girl. Rashmila, like other Kumaris, was crowned as a Kumari at the naive age of 4. From someone who was treated like a goddess and was hardly exposed to the outer world (except a few festivals in which she was carried in a palanquin), she, when replaced with another Kumari, at the age of 11, had no idea how to cope with a normal world. She felt distant to her real family and struggled in every aspect of her life which included some of the basics such as walking, conversing and smiling. She lost out on her prime years of childhood and basic education and had a very difficult time catching up but eventually managed. Despite all the struggles and hardships, Rashmila advocates for this tradition and wishes that this is not taken away in the name of human rights violation. I do not agree with her where she argues that it is better for a young girl to be treated as a goddess than be subjected to an otherwise normal or impoverished Nepali family life. For centuries, women have been stripped of equal rights. By putting them on a pedestal and calling them goddesses, they are put under pressure to behave in a certain way and sacrifice their pleasures for others. A child bereft of a normal childhood wherein she is expected to put state over self is worth contemplating. I was not shocked at the findings because we have many similar traditions in India as well. Fight for equality continues.
September 8, 2024
After visiting Nepal last year and seeing the Kathmandu Kumari, it was very interesting to learn more about this through the viewpoint of a former Kumari. Fascinating how wrongly these cultural practices are often portrayed in Western media.
March 15, 2024
Luckily I read it after I went to Nepal, so it all made sense. I can see how one can be disappointed if not accustomed at all to their way of living. Of course I would have liked it to be more insightful and to enter more into the mystic side of being a goddess. But after having seen their every day life, it only makes sense that they picture it in such a simple, naive and pragmatic manner. I think it fits very well and the fact that it made me smile at memories of the Kumari Che and the one time I actually saw her being carried in her chariot during a festival is all I could have asked for.
October 24, 2013
Reading it in a hotel room in Khatmandu after seeing the current Kumari and then going to see her again really gave it context. It was interesting and an insight into a culture that most of us know little about. Educational more than anything. Glad I read it but that's about it.
March 25, 2015
Fascinating since I actually saw Kumari recently. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been rated in the same light.
January 5, 2026
A fascinating and important memoir that lifts the curtain on the real life of Nepal’s living goddesses — the Kumaris. Rashmila Shakya, who served as the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu during the 1980s, tells her story with honesty, clarity, and quiet strength.
She shatters many persistent myths: there is no guaranteed university education or government job after retirement, and the often-whispered idea of a degrading “intimate examination” during the selection process is completely false. The book makes it clear: she was never abused or mistreated — and in fact, she felt proud to serve her country in such a sacred role.
Rashmila describes both the reverence and isolation that come with being treated as a living goddess, and the difficult transition back into ordinary life once her time ended. She was still a child, suddenly expected to adapt to a society that revered her one day and ignored her the next.
An eye-opening, respectful account that gives voice to the girl behind the tradition — not just the symbol. A must-read for anyone interested in Nepalese culture, women’s voices, or the human side of religious ritual.
She shatters many persistent myths: there is no guaranteed university education or government job after retirement, and the often-whispered idea of a degrading “intimate examination” during the selection process is completely false. The book makes it clear: she was never abused or mistreated — and in fact, she felt proud to serve her country in such a sacred role.
Rashmila describes both the reverence and isolation that come with being treated as a living goddess, and the difficult transition back into ordinary life once her time ended. She was still a child, suddenly expected to adapt to a society that revered her one day and ignored her the next.
An eye-opening, respectful account that gives voice to the girl behind the tradition — not just the symbol. A must-read for anyone interested in Nepalese culture, women’s voices, or the human side of religious ritual.
July 30, 2018
Not a literary tour-de-force by any means but it was interesting to read more about the Kumari tradition from one of the former goddesses. When I was in Nepal in 2015 I saw the Kumari at her palace window. I felt simultaneously sorry for interrupting a little girl's day to gawk at her and honored to have had the opportunity to pay my ignorant respect. This tension between being a little girl with little girl interests and the centerpiece of Kathmandu Hinduism is set out with charm in the book. A light read. (the kindle version has a lot of typos...and no photos!)
February 22, 2018
Absolutely fascinating!!!! I have another two books on Kumari, and can't wait. The book is really quite an interesting insight. Looking forward to seeing more of the structure surrounding it, and then possibly coming back to this volume.
April 18, 2018
Fascinating insights into a cultural tradition that I was wholly ignorant of.
August 23, 2020
Best book to check facts and myth about KUMARI, the living goddess
November 28, 2016
I read this in Kathmandu, after visiting the still earthquake-ravaged Durbar Square and passing by the mostly untouched palace of the Royal Kumari. Then a few days later, I went to Patan and met the Kumari there. This book gives fascinating insights into the life of girls declared to be "living goddesses," both stranger and more down-to-earth than I'd imagined. Recommended for those who want a glimpse of a world very much unlike ours in the US and who are curious about the history behind this mysterious custom.
July 29, 2022
Loved it to hear about my own culture from Dya Meiju herself. A beautiful narration from the very begining of her appointment till her current life as an IT student. It sets a lot of misconceptions and myths straight.
A must read for anyone who wants straight up facts about the life of a Kumari from an ex-Kumari herself.
A must read for anyone who wants straight up facts about the life of a Kumari from an ex-Kumari herself.
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