Three-day Mupatra Jatra begins in Bhaktapur alongside Indra Jatra

The three-day Mupatra Jatra held during Indra Jatra began in Bhaktapur on Monday evening.

Tradition holds that this jatra takes place on the sixth, seventh and eighth days of Bhaktapur's Indra Jatra.

On the first day, the procession set out from Sakulan Tole in Ward No. 9 of Bhaktapur Municipality, near Dattatreya.

Three performers dressed as demons, their faces painted and carrying swords, took part — the Mupatra in the middle flanked on both sides by his assistants, the Dhi:cha.

Circling the city, they struck the Yamadya poles at various locations three times each with their swords and circled them three times.

The Yamadya, regarded as a symbol of Jayanta, son of Indra, is erected at 21 locations across the city on the first day of Indra Jatra.