Bisket Jatra falls on the first month of
Nepalese calendar. It is celebrated specifically in Bhaktapur.
The myth behind the festival is that there was
a princess whose husbands kept dying on the wedding bed. This was problematic
for the royal family. Then came along a prince, blessed by the Goddess, who
found a pair of serpents crawl out of the sleeping princess. He killed them and
the princess finally remained married.
During this festival, chariots of Lord Bhairav
and Goddess Bhadrakali are pulled through different parts of the city. At
Lyasinkhel, a tall pole with two embroidered clothes, representing the
serpents, is erected. As it is celebrated to mark the death of the serpents, it
is also called Bisyau Jatra, meaning slaying of the serpents.
Because it begins from the end of Chaitra to
the beginning of Baisakh, it is also known as the festival of the New Year.