After pulling the chariot from Hakha tole to Sundhara, the Sundhara native will celebrate a jatra (festival) on Saturday.
The chariot of Rato Machhindranath, whose procession started on April 29, collapsed at Hakha tole on May 2 while being pulled from Pulchowk to Sundhara.
Cultural expert Satya Mohan Joshi said the chariot fell because of the low quality wood used to build its wheels. To support the weight of the chariot, the wheels need to be built with special wood called Na shee which no longer grows in Nepal. The wood can only be found in India now. “Because of deforestation, this particular kind of wood is not found in Nepal anymore,” he said.
Rato Machhindranath is worshipped as the God of rain and harvest. Along with the names Rato Machhindranath or Bunga Dyo, this deity is popularly known as Karunamaya Lokeshwara in Buddhism, meaning compassionate god of the universe.
The Jyapu (farmers) make up a large portion of those who worship this deity to help bring about a good crop yield, and offer the very first grains of their harvest to the god.
The chariot festival of Rato Machhindranath runs every year from April to June, based on an auspicious date taken from the lunar calendar.
According to Joshi, the deity was brought by the Lichhivi king Narendra Dev during the ninth century from Kamarkamachay of Assam, India, to the Kathmandu Valley´s Patan to prevent drought. The deity is kept in Bungamati for sixth months and in Patan´s Tahbahal for six months.
The festival begins with construction of the chariot in Pulchowk and ends with the celebration of Bhoto Jatra.
The festival is celebrated along the path from Pulchowk, particularly in areas such as Gabahal, Sundhara, Lagankhel and Jawalakhel. Before the chariot is brought to Jawalakhel, an auspicious day and time is selected according to placement of planets and stars.
After four days keeping the deity in Jawalakhel, Bhoto Jatra is celebrated with the presence of the head of the nation before being returned to the temple of Bungamati, a village in southern Kathmandu.
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