Aja, Aji and Namobuddha
Festival
Author
Kapil Sainju
Published
09 Sep, 2026
On Bhadra Krishna Dwadashi, Panauti carries Namobuddha's cot home as Aja Aji return.
The article covers the Bhadra Krishna Dwadashi procession that carries Namobuddha's palanquin from Gandhaman Hill to Panauti's old royal palace, and the belief that King Maharath and Queen Satyavati became the deities Aja and Ajima after Mahasattva's death. It focuses on Panauti town and the adjoining Namobuddha stupa in Kavre district.
Research draws on the oral account recorded by Lama Guru Kanchha Lama at the Namo Buddha Guthi, Panauti Museum festival records, and an inscription reported at the Gandhaman stupa. Where the inscription's calendar era is unclear, this article states that directly rather than asserting a date.
Namobuddha's stupa sits on Gandhaman Hill, within walking distance of Panauti.
Panauti is one of the valley's oldest Newari towns, settled since at least the Kirant period and flourishing under Malla rule. Namobuddha stands close enough that its resident deity is treated as part of Panauti's own household, not a separate shrine.
Namobuddha is worshipped as the deity born from Mahasattva's sacrifice to a tigress.
A carved statue on Gandhaman Hill depicts the prince cutting his flesh to feed the starving tigress and her cubs. Local tradition holds that a chaitya was later built there from the gathered bone relics, though the inscription's exact era remains unclear in available records.
On Bhadra Krishna Dwadashi, Namobuddha's cot is carried to Panauti's palace.
The palanquin travels down from Gandhaman Hill in a procession that includes two Deepankar images alongside Aja and Ajima. The route ends at Panauti's old royal palace square, where the deity is received as a family member returning home.
King Maharath and Queen Satyavati are said to have become Aja and Ajima.
Lama Guru Kanchha Lama recounts that after Mahasattva's death, the king and queen devoted the rest of their lives to serving the chaitya at Gandhaman. Local tradition holds that Rajarani Shankheshwari, the royal couple, then came to be known as Aji and Ajima.
2 days
Namobuddha Fair Days
8000 ft
Gandhaman Elevation
Aja Aji turns Namobuddha from a distant shrine into Panauti's own grandparents.
Panauti families still welcome Namobuddha home each Bhadra as Aja and Ajima.
The Panauti Museum still lists Namobuddha Jatra with Aja and Ajima among the town's annual festivals, held in Bhadra. For many Panauti households, the procession remains less a pilgrimage to a distant hill and more a visit from family.
