The Pole and Its Names

The ceremonial pole raised each year at the beginning of Indra Jatra is called Yosin (योसिं) in Nepal Bhasa — sometimes also transliterated as Yoh-sing. In Nepali it is called lingo, but the Nepal Bhasa name is preferred when discussing the festival in its Newar cultural context.

The Yosin is not a piece of permanent infrastructure. It is a freshly felled tree — traditionally a pine or other tall straight timber — cut specifically for the festival from a designated forest area outside the valley. The selection of the tree is a ritual act: the tree must be straight, unblemished, and of appropriate height, and its felling is accompanied by prayers and offerings.

Raising Day

On the first day of Indra Jatra, the Yosin is raised in the open square at Hanuman Dhoka — the old royal palace complex — in a ceremony that requires coordinated effort from a large team of men who haul the pole upright using ropes while priests conduct simultaneous puja. As the pole rises and locks into its base, the crowd gathered in Basantapur cheers: this is the moment the festival formally begins.

The pole is decorated with cloth, flowers, and sacred imagery. At its summit hangs an image of Indra — or, in some accounts, of the demon Sveta, whose capture by the city's defenders is part of the festival's origin narrative. The pole's height — it rises well above the surrounding buildings — makes it visible from throughout the old city.

Axis Mundi Symbolism

In the cosmological framework of the festival, the Yosin functions as an axis mundi — a vertical connector between the three worlds (underworld, human realm, celestial realm) that temporarily aligns them during the festival period. Its raising marks the opening of sacred time; its lowering on the eighth day marks the closing.

The pole also functions as Indra's victory standard — the sign of the god's presence in the valley and his authority over the dew and rain that will nourish the coming agricultural cycle. In this sense, raising the Yosin is not merely celebratory but agricultural: it secures the season's blessing.

Lowering

On the eighth and final day of Indra Jatra, the Yosin is lowered with the same ceremony and coordination required to raise it. Its descent marks the end of the festival — Indra is released, the sacred time closes, and the world returns to ordinary rhythm. The timber may be distributed or kept as a sacred object; the specific customs vary by year and community.