Biskit Jatra: Ancient Roots — Nepal’s Festival of the Chariot
Educational Blog | Cultural Studies
Abstract: Biskit Jatra is one of Nepal’s oldest and most dramatic living festivals, celebrated annually in Bhaktapur to mark the Nepali New Year. This article examines its historical origins, ritual structure, cultural symbolism, and contemporary significance as both a living religious tradition and an intangible cultural heritage.
Introduction
Table Of Contents
Every April, the medieval city of Bhaktapur — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley — transforms into a stage for one of South Asia’s most visceral and ancient public festivals: Biskit Jatra. Lasting approximately nine days and coinciding with the Nepali New Year (Navabarsha), this festival is a powerful convergence of religious devotion, communal identity, and centuries-old ritual practice. Unlike many festivals that have evolved into largely symbolic observances, Biskit Jatra retains a remarkable degree of its original vitality, attracting thousands of participants and spectators from across Nepal and the wider world.
Historical Background and Etymology
The origins of Biskit Jatra are rooted in the syncretic Hindu-Buddhist traditions that have long characterized the Kathmandu Valley. While precise historical documentation is limited, oral traditions and temple chronicles (sthalapuranas) suggest the festival has been observed for over two thousand years. Some accounts trace its formalized structure to the reign of King Jagajyotir Malla in the 17th century, though the underlying rituals are widely believed to be significantly older.
The name itself is etymologically significant. “Biskit” is commonly derived from the Newari words biska, meaning “snake killing” or “death of serpents,” referencing a central mythological episode. An alternative interpretation traces it to bi(another) and syaku (to have died), loosely translated as “yet another has died” — a reference to the mythological tale at the festival’s heart. The ambiguity in etymology reflects the layered, pluralistic nature of Newar cultural tradition.
The Myth at the Core
The festival is anchored by a powerful origin myth. According to tradition, Bhaktapur was once plagued by a mysterious curse: every man who married a certain princess died on their wedding night. The cause was revealed to be two serpents (nagas) hidden in the princess’s hair. A brave young man from outside the city discovered the serpents and killed them, lifting the curse and saving both the princess and the kingdom.
This myth encodes several important cultural values: the triumph of courage over supernatural malevolence, the restoration of social order, and the cyclical renewal of life. The killing of the serpents, symbolizing the destruction of evil and death, is re-enacted annually through the festival’s rituals, most notably the erection and pulling down of a tall wooden pole (locally called lingo), which represents the serpents being vanquished.
Ritual Structure and Key Events
Biskit Jatra is not a single event but a sequence of interconnected rituals spread over nine days. The following are its most significant components:
The Chariot Procession (Rath Yatra). At the heart of the festival is the procession of two massive wooden chariots — one carrying the deity Bhairava (a fierce manifestation of Shiva) and the other carrying the goddess Bhadrakali. These towering structures, built anew or refurbished each year by skilled craftsmen using traditional techniques, are pulled through Bhaktapur’s narrow streets by teams of men from opposing halves of the city, representing the upper (Thane) and lower (Kone) quarters. The tug-of-war between these two groups is a ritual enactment of cosmic duality — the tension between opposing forces that sustains the universe. Whichever half wins the tug determines auspicious omens for the coming year.
The Erection of the Lingo (Bamboo/Wooden Pole). In the Khosinchen locality, a tall bamboo or wooden pole adorned with two cloth banners representing the slain serpents is erected on New Year’s Eve. The raising of the pole is a communal act requiring considerable physical strength and coordination. It stands as a symbol of renewal and the vanquishing of evil. Its subsequent felling on New Year’s Day — pulled down by competing community members — marks the official beginning of the Nepali New Year.
Deity Processions and Ritual Worship. Throughout the festival, numerous local deities are taken out of their temples in procession (jatra). Priests perform elaborate pujas (ritual offerings), and the presiding deity, Bhairava, is believed to grant blessings of health, prosperity, and protection to the community. Blood sacrifices (bali), particularly of goats and buffaloes, remain an integral aspect of the worship, reflecting the Tantric dimensions of Newar religious practice.
Cultural and Sociological Significance
Biskit Jatra is far more than a religious event; it functions as a mechanism for community cohesion within Bhaktapur’s Newar society. The division of the city into two competing halves — upper and lower — mirrors a broader Newar social organization in which kinship groups (guthi) play essential roles in managing festivals, death rituals, and communal resources. The festival activates these ancient social structures, reinforcing identity and obligation across generations.
The festival also serves an economic function, sustaining traditional craftspeople — woodcarvers, metalworkers, tailors, and musicians — whose skills are integral to producing festival materials. In an era of rapid urbanization and modernization, Biskit Jatra provides a living context in which traditional knowledge systems remain economically relevant and socially valued.
Biskit Jatra and Intangible Cultural Heritage
UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage identifies living festivals such as Biskit Jatra as invaluable expressions of community identity, transmitted across generations through practice rather than text. Nepal’s Department of Archaeology and various NGOs have undertaken documentation efforts, yet challenges remain. Urban migration, generational disengagement, and the commercialization of heritage all pose threats to the festival’s authenticity and continuity.
Educational initiatives — including those by organizations like YEP Nepal — play a critical role in connecting younger generations to these living traditions, not merely as spectators but as informed participants.
Conclusion
Biskit Jatra stands as a remarkable example of living heritage in the truest sense: a festival that has traversed millennia without becoming a museum piece. It continues to generate genuine communal emotion, religious devotion, and social solidarity. For educators, cultural scholars, and students alike, it offers an invaluable lens through which to examine the intersections of myth, ritual, community, and identity in South Asian civilization.
Understanding Biskit Jatra is, ultimately, understanding something essential about how human communities create meaning — and how they renew that meaning, year after year, through collective action, shared story, and the simple, profound act of pulling a rope together.
Keywords: Biskit Jatra, Bhaktapur, Newar culture, Nepali New Year, intangible cultural heritage, Kathmandu Valley, chariot festival, Rath Yatra, Newar guthi, Bhairava
Word Count: ~950 words
Recommended Citation: YEP Nepal. (2025). “Biskit Jatra: New Year, Ancient Roots — Nepal’s Festival of the Chariot.” YEP Nepal Educational Blog. yepnepal.com.
