Nepal picks 3-yr-old as living goddess

A three-year-old girl was anointed the new "living goddess" of Kathmandu by Hindu priests yesterday and taken to a palace in the historic centre of the Nepali capital where she will remain until she reaches puberty.

Wearing a red dress the new Kumari, or living goddess, Trishna Shakya was taken from her home to the ancient Durbar Square for a short initiation ceremony.

Her father then carried her across the cobbled square -- which still bears the scars of a powerful earthquake that hit in 2015 -- to the temple-palace where she will live under the care of specially-appointed guardians.

Shakya was flanked by her family and barefoot men in red tunics on the short walk, the last time she will be seen in public without the elaborate makeup of the Kumari, or living goddess, until puberty.

"I have mixed feelings. My daughter has become the Kumari and it is a good thing. But there is also sadness because she will be separated from us," her father Bijaya Ratna Shakya told AFP.

Shakya leaves behind a twin brother, Krishna, who cried as his sister was taken from the family home.

As the Kumari, Shakya is considered the embodiment of the Hindu goddess Taleju and will only be allowed to leave the temple 13 times a year on special feast days.