Two-year-old girl chosen as Nepal’s new living goddess

Living goddesses are selected between the ages of two and four and are required to have unblemished skin, hair, eyes and teeth. They should not be afraid of the dark

Kumari Aryatara Shakya is carried by a family member in Kathmandu (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

A two-year-old girl chosen as Nepal’s new living goddess was carried by family members from their home in an alley in Kathmandu to a temple palace on Tuesday during the country’s longest and most significant Hindu festival.

Aryatara Shakya, at two years and eight months old, was chosen as the new Kumari or “virgin goddess”, replacing the incumbent who is considered by tradition to become a mere mortal upon reaching puberty.