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History of the Gadhimai Mela

Many years ago, a thief came to the house of Bhagwan Chaudhary, the landowner of the village. When the villagers came to know about this, they beat the thief to death. All the villagers were afraid as they believed that they would be blamed for killing the thief. But Bhagwan Chaudhary took all the blame on himself. He was a religious person. While in jail, he saw Kalimata (Goddess Kali) in his dream and when he woke up, he realized that he was out of jail. After that he returned to his home with a promise that he would build a temple of Kalimata (Goddess Kali). He carried the mud under his feet in the temple where he was given darshan by Kalimata. Tying the same soil in a turban, he returned to his village Bariyarpur. As the road from Makwanpur fort to his village Bariyarpur was far, he went to rest from place to place. A part of the soil fell in a place where he rested, wherever the soil part fell, later that place became a place of worship of Goddess Gadhimai. Among them are Makwanpur Fort, Jitpur Fort etc are some of them. Those who cannot reach Gadhimai go to that place and worship. After reaching the village, Bhagwan Chaudhary built the Kali Goddess temple as promised. He wanted to offer something valuable to Gadhimai. He donated blood from five different parts of his body. Later they started offering animals to the goddess instead of their blood. From there, the animal sacrifice started in Gadhimai. While the festival offers a vibrant display of cultural expression, it has also been a center of controversy due to the large-scale sacrificial slaughter of animals. This practice reflects a deeply ingrained belief system where devotees offer their most valuable possessions, believing it will bring good fortune and blessings.

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