The Legend of Patibhara

In the late 19th century, a seven year old girl in the market town of Ilam took her family’s goats out to graze in nearby meadows, as she did most days.  She returned home, ate dinner, and went to bed, as usual.  She appeared fine throughout the day and at bedtime.  The following morning, her family found her dead in her bed, with no known explanation.

Being a virgin and therefore considered pure in local tradition, she was buried near her family home.  Several days later, also following tradition, a shaman was called to lead the services intended to facilitate her passage to a better afterlife.  The shaman will often drum and chant all through the night, at some point going into trance and either communicating with the deceased or serving as their living voice.  By the time he awakes from his trance in the morning, he has no recall of any events of the past night.

During the night, the girl spoke through him and said that she was now a goddess, residing on a high hilltop in the same general area of east Nepal.  Several members of the family and community, led by the shaman, set out to find her new place of residence and pay homage to her.  They found her atop a hill called Patibhara, and built a small shrine to the newly named Patibhara Devi, the latter word being Nepali for goddess.  Speaking through the shaman, she urged the local villagers to do good for the less privileged, and to leave money at her shrine which would be used for that purpose, thus accruing good karma and financial benefit for the devotee.  She said that no one should ever sleep atop or in any other way “pollute” the hilltop at Patibhara.  

All went well for a while, with many devotees coming on pilgrimage and leaving money at her shrine, which was used to assist the less privileged in the nearby villages.  At one point, thieves came and stole all the money at the shrine, which was punished shortly thereafter by a landslide which wiped out their entire village.  Dedication to Patibhara Devi has increased over the years, and one frequently encounters pilgrims traveling for days to come to her shrine and beseech her for some favor or relief from their troubles.

~Steve Conlon
Above The Clouds