Indra's Stolen Elephant

Every year in September, Kathmandu erupts in a festival so old that even the gods who inspired it have grown legendary. This is the story of how Indra Jatra began.

The god Indra, lord of rain and sky, disguised himself as a commoner and came down to the Kathmandu Valley to pick white night-blooming jasmine for his mother, Dakshini. She needed the flowers for a religious ritual, and the jasmine of the valley is the finest in the three worlds.

But Indra was caught stealing flowers from a garden near Maru Tol and was tied to a post in the city square by the locals, who did not recognise him. He was kept prisoner for several days while his mother, worried and angry, came looking for him.

When Dakshini arrived in the valley, the people realised the terrible mistake they had made. They freed Indra immediately and begged his mother's forgiveness. Dakshini, moved by their honesty, made them two promises: that Indra would send the winter rains every year to water their crops, and that he wou