Kumari Samita Bajracharya sits in front of devotees offers during a special puja at Kumari Ghar in Patan, Nepal, 09 April 2011. It is believed that worshipping Kumari and receiving tika from her reduces illness and avoid problems. Kumari, or Kumari Devi, is a “living goddess”. The word literally means virgin in Nepali. The Living Goddesses are young pre-pubescent girls that are considered to be incarnations of the Hindu Goddess of Power, Kali. The Kumari retires when she reaches puberty. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

Women in traditional costumes wait for a statue of the El Carmen Virgin to be carried into the sea during a procession in Malaga July 16, 2015. Many seaside towns celebrate the annual feast of the El Carmen Virgin, who is worshipped as the patron saint of sailors. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

A Nepalese mother applies make up to her daughter dressed as the living goddess Kumari as they wait for Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, September 14, 2016. Girls under the age of nine gathered for the Kumari puja, a tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in the Newar community that seeks divine blessings to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

An aerial view taken on September 11, 2020 shows the Buddhist temple Wat Samphran (Dragon Temple) in Nakhon Pathom, some 40km west of Bangkok. Wat Samphran is a popular tourist destination with visitors coming to see the huge dragon figure curling around a pink cylindrical building next to the Buddha statues and places of worship of the traditional Buddhist temple complex. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A girl adorned as a Living Goddess smiles as she takes part in a mass Kumari Puja prayer rituals during Indra Jatra festival in Kathmandu, Nepal on Friday, September 5, 2025. Hundreds of young girls under the age of nine gathered around the temple to offer worship for good luck, protection from evil and prevent from diseases. (Photo by Skanda Gautam/ZUMA Press Wire via Alamy Live News)

A Tibetan pilgrim prostrates herself at the Jokhang Temple in central Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China early November 20, 2015. Every day thousands of Tibetans visit and pray at Jokhang Temple, considered one of the most sacred places of worship. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A Nepalese devotee offers ritual prayer at the Bank of Bagmati River of Pashupatinath Temple during Rishi Panchami Festival celebrations at Kathmandu, Nepal on Sunday, August 23, 2020. Rishi Panchami festival is celebrated as the last day of three-day long Teej Festival. The Teej festival is celebrated by Hindu women in Nepal as well as in some parts of India. (Photo by Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

An Indian child artisan carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu God Ganesha at a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Chennai, India, Saturday, September 7, 2013. Ganesh Chaturthi, which begins from September 9, is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha who is widely worshiped by Hindus as the God of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. (Photo by Arun Sankar K./AP Photo)