Indra Jatra, one of the biggest festivals of Kathmandu Valley, was marked with great fanfare on Thursday.
President Ram Chandra Paudel, Vice-president Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, ministers, lawmakers, provincial assembly members, local elected representatives and others attended the celebrations on the third and main day of Indra Jatra.
All the dignitaries walked from New Road to Hanuman Dhoka to observe the festival.
Kumari Jatra also takes place on the third day of Indra Jatra when chariots of the living goddess Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav are pulled through different parts of Kathmandu. The chariot processions are held for three days.
Masked dances such as Majipa Lakhey and Pulu Kisi, cultural and musical processions, and displays of various deities are other major attractions of the eight-day-long festival, which is known as Yenya in the Newari language.
Indra Jatra began on Tuesday with the raising of the Yosin or Lingo, a ceremonial wooden pole, with the banner of Indra, the Hindu god of rain and good harvest, at Kathmandu Durbar Square. The pole is brought from a forest near Nala in Bhaktapur by people from the Manandhar clan.
Here are some pictures of the celebrations on Thursday.
