Indradaha (Siddha Pokhari) Jatra in Bhaktapur

On the following day of Indrajatra, a festival is held at the Indradaha commonly called Siddha Pokhari. At the location, Indrayani worship is held and a lot of people from all over the valley visit the ancient man-made pond located at the ancient Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

According to the legends, the king of Heaven, Indra, had bathed in the pond. Based on the saying it is believed that if one bathes in the pond and do the worshiping of Indrayani Devi, there would be prosperity in the person’s life.

A story about the pond:

On every Indrajatra festival, a statue of Indrayani Devi is placed in a chariot and carried from Khauma Tol of Bhaktapur and brought to Indradaha. The statue is worshiped by Tantra method. Traditional music is played and people perform Bhajan concerts.

In and around the pond there are various statues of gods of different faiths. Some statues are of Lichhivi time and others are of Malla time. The gods include Buddha-clan, Shaiva-clan, Shakti-clan, Vaishnav-clan and other communities.

In one saying, during the time of famine, people went to the pond to worship Basuki Naga for rain. After that regular such worshiping and jatra are held at the pond. According to the locals, the Shiva Lingam located on the Eastern side of pond is specially worshiped on the belief that offering water and drinking the water from Lingam helps in treating throat pain. There are a lot of similar beliefs and stories about the pond.

Historically, the pond is believed to have been built by the ancient kings for water supply and water sports. The rulers had built a lot of such water sources to recharge various stone taps located throughout the city. Hence, these water bodies were some of the most important sources of drinking water and irrigation water. Festivals and Jatra were done to safeguard these water bodies for the benefit of the people.