Bagh Bhairav Jatra
बाघ भैरव जात्रा
Also known as: Bagh Bhairab Jatra, Baghbhairav Jatra, Kirtipur Jatra
Kirtipur's own one-day jatra on the first day of Bhadra, when an image of Bagh Bhairav, the tiger form of Bhairav and the town's presiding deity, is bathed, worshipped and carried through the old streets with bands, bhajans and Lakhe dance.
Location
Kirtipur, Kathmandu
Duration
1 days
Month (Local)
Bhadra
Month (AD)
August
Highlights
One-day jatra on Bhadra 1 (Singha Sankranti), Bagh Bhairav's own day. Procession of the specially made image through Kirtipur's old streets with traditional bands, bhajans and Lakhe dance. The 108-circuit circumambulation of the temple. A medieval Newar town that most valley itineraries skip.
Tips for Visitors
Kirtipur sits about 5 km southwest of central Kathmandu, 20–30 minutes by taxi, and the old town is best walked. The temple courtyard is small and busy on the day, so keep to the edges of the procession and follow local guidance. The jatra follows the Nepali solar calendar rather than a lunar tithi, so it lands on Bhadra 1 each year, but it has been curtailed or postponed in some years — confirm locally before travelling for it.
Bagh Bhairav Jatra is the festival of Kirtipur, the hilltop Newar town on the southwestern rim of the Kathmandu Valley. It falls on the first day of Bhadra, the solar transition known as Singha Sankranti, and is kept locally as the day of Bagh Bhairav himself, the tiger form of Bhairav who is Kirtipur's principal deity.
An image of the god, made especially for the occasion, is bathed in the kunda north of the temple and worshipped, then carried through the lanes of the town accompanied by traditional bands and by devotees singing bhajans and kirtans. Lakhe dance accompanies the procession, as it does at several of the valley's Bhadra-season jatras.
The other half of the day belongs to the temple itself. Devotees circumambulate Bagh Bhairav Temple, and local belief holds that completing 108 circuits on this day brings health and success. The temple is a landmark in its own right: its walls still carry the shields and swords taken from the battle for Kirtipur against Prithvi Narayan Shah's army.
The jatra is a town festival rather than a staged event, which makes it one of the more approachable ways to see Kirtipur as its own place rather than a half-hour stop on a valley tour.
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