Three-year-old TrishnaShakya of Dallu has been recommended as new Kumari of Kathmandu. A meeting of the GuthiSansthan Management Committee (GSMC) had recommended Shakya as the new living goddess on Monday.

Shakya was taken to SheetalNiwas on Tuesday for a presidential approval.

Trishna will succeed PreetiShakya on September 28—Ashtami or the eighth day of the Dashain festival. Preeti was picked for the role at the age of four in 2008. The Kumari, is revered and worshipped by country’s Hindu and Buddhist communities. The living goddess, who is believed to be an incarnation of goddess Taleju, the clan goddess of the Malla kings who ruled Nepal between 12th and 18th centuries, will hold her status until she reaches puberty. The word Kumari is derived from Sanskrit’s Kaumarya, meaning “the princess”.

“Now Preeti has reached 12, that’s why, we have selected Trishna,” said MajuShriBajracharya, Raj Guruju (royal priest of Taleju). Kumari in Kathmandu is selected among the girls from Shakya clan. “But girls from both Shakya and Bajracharya clans are picked for the role in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur,” said UdabKarmacharya, MulPujari (chief priest of TalejuBhawani). The girl must have perfect eyes, teeth, must be free of scars and should be patient.Trishna was selected among four candidates by the GSMC that included Raj Guruju, chief priest of Taleju, Joshi Naike (head astrologer) and the caretaker of Kumari in KumariChhen (Kumari House).

Trishna was born to BijayaRatna and ShrijinaShakya at AawasChhetra in Dallu.

Corrigendum: This article has been edited for accuracy. An earlier version, published on Sept 27, erroneously reported that candidates for the new Kumari have to spend a night among heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes. The inadvertent error is regretted.-Ed