Aryatara Shakya is carried by her father as she is brought to the Taleju Bhawani Temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square, Nepal. Subaas Shrestha/Nur Photo/Associated Press Kathmandu, Nepal AP —

A two-year-old girl chosen as Nepal’s new living goddess was carried by family members from their home in a Kathmandu alley to a temple palace Tuesday during the country’s longest and most significant Hindu festival.

Aryatara Shakya, at 2 years and 8 months, was chosen as the new Kumari or “virgin goddess,” replacing the incumbent who is considered by tradition to become a mere mortal upon reaching puberty.

Kumaris are chosen from the Shakya clans of the Newar community, indigenous to the Kathmandu valley, and revered by both Hindus and Buddhists in the predominantly Hindu nation.

The girls a

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