Glossaryशब्दकोश

Gods & goddesses

Newar for "grandmother", and the name of grandmother goddesses who protect children. Also the old priestess's name.

Gods & goddesses

The great blue face worshipped in Kathmandu, said to be the head of the Kirat king Yalambar.

Culture

"Peace": the name of the story's fearless hero, the one thing he has never had.

Places

The holy river of the Kathmandu Valley, lined with ghats where the dead are cremated.

Gods & goddesses

The fierce form of Shiva and guardian of the Valley, before whom Achedya swore his oath.

Gods & goddesses

Bhima, strongest of the Pandavas, worshipped by Newar traders as a protector.

Gods & goddesses

One of the eight Mothers, shown with several faces and a swan. In Episode 2 she tests Nani's pride.

Gods & goddesses

The fiercest of the eight Mothers, linked to cremation grounds. In Episode 2 she tests Aman's rage.

Culture

"Older brother", a friendly way to address a man. "Namaste, Lakhe dai!"

Culture

Nepal's biggest festival, celebrating Durga's victory over Mahishasura, with red tika and family blessings.

Objects

The patterned Nepali cap worn by the boy and the drunk man at the festival.

Objects

The big two-headed Newar drum played at festivals and Lakhe dances.

Objects

A heavy war mace. Aman's is spiked bronze, taken from the yaksha armory.

Places

Stone steps down to a river. At Pashupati, the ghats are where bodies are burned.

Places

A high lake in Langtang, made when Shiva struck the mountain with his trident to cool his poisoned throat.

Beings

A child-eating demon of Newar legend, tamed and given a feast at Tundikhel so he leaves children alone.

Objects

The poison that rose first from the churned ocean, strong enough to destroy the world, until Shiva drank it.

Objects

The sacred swan, the mount of Brahmayani.

Gods & goddesses

Ram's mighty, devoted ally, honored across Nepal; Hanuman Dhoka palace in Kathmandu is named after him.

Culture

Kathmandu's great festival, when the Kumari's chariot is pulled through the city and Lakhe dancers perform.

Places

City in southern Nepal where Sita was born, and where Ram broke Shiva's bow to marry her.

Places

An old name for Kathmandu.

Objects

A skull-cup bowl carried by fierce deities. held by Chamunda in Episode 2.

Beings

King of the Nagas, said to live in the pond of Taudaha after the Valley was drained.

Beings

A furry household ghost of Newar folklore who lives in the dark corners of old houses. It hears everything said in the house, including what the dead say.

Beings

A Nepali ghost: a woman in white with backward-pointing feet, who calls travelers by name and leads them astray.

Gods & goddesses

The lord of wealth and king of the yakshas, who lives in the far north. He is never seen in the story; Kanakaksha acts in his name.

Gods & goddesses

The living goddess: a young girl chosen to embody the goddess Taleju until she first bleeds.

Places

The palace in Basantapur where the Kumari lives, famous for its carved wooden windows.

Beings

A demon of Newar tradition who protects Kathmandu. Dancers in red Lakhe masks perform at Indra Jatra. Achedya, Aman's ally, is a real one.

Places

The garden in Nepal where the Buddha was born.

Culture

The epic of the Kurukshetra war. Season 3 follows its Nepali threads: Yalambar, Bhimsen, Shiva as a Kirata hunter.

Beings

The buffalo-demon king defeated by the goddess Durga, a victory Nepal celebrates at Dashain.

Culture

The dynasty of kings who ruled the Kathmandu Valley in the age when the story is set.

Gods & goddesses

The bodhisattva of wisdom, who cut the Chobhar gorge with his sword and drained the lake.

Beings

The tempter who attacked the Buddha with demon armies and illusions.

Gods & goddesses

The mother goddesses. Eight of them, the Ashta Matrika, guard the edges of the Valley.

Beings

A headless ghost of Nepali folklore that walks at night carrying its own head.

Beings

Serpent beings of water and the underworld, honored across Nepal at Nag Panchami. In the story they once ruled the lake that filled the Valley.

Objects

A legendary jewel carried by serpents. In Episode 3 it slows the goddess's fire inside Nani.

Objects

A serpent noose or necklace. Nani's Kumari necklace takes this serpent form.

Culture

The everyday greeting, said with palms pressed together.

Gods & goddesses

"Blue-throated": Shiva, after the halahala poison burned his throat blue. Gosaikunda is where he cooled it.

Culture

The people and culture of the Kathmandu Valley, whose festivals and art shape the whole series.

Beings

One of the eight great Nagas. Padmini, Karkotak's daughter, is named after him.

Places

The great temple of Shiva as Lord of all creatures, on the Bagmati in Kathmandu. The Valley cremates its dead on its ghats.

Culture

Traditional Newar religious painting, with gold detail and decorative borders. The comic's page style borrows from it.

Beings

A hungry ghost, often with a huge belly and a tiny mouth, the restless dead whose rites were never done.

Culture

The ancient histories of gods, demons and the cosmos, including the churning of the ocean.

Beings

"Blood-seed": the asura from the Devi Mahatmya whose every drop of spilled blood rose as another of him. Kali drank his blood before it could fall.

Culture

The epic of Ram, Sita, Hanuman and the war against Ravana. Season 2 of the story.

Culture

A Hindu ascetic who has given up worldly life. Shaiva sadhus smear themselves with ash and keep a sacred fire, the dhuni.

Culture

The churning of the ocean of milk by gods and demons, seeking the nectar of immortality.

Places

Waterfalls and a pass at the northern rim of the Kathmandu Valley, where the old trail climbs toward the high lakes.

Gods & goddesses

Protective goddess of the Malla kings, who returns to the world only inside the Kumari.

Places

A small lake south of Kathmandu, said to be the last remnant of the ancient lake and home of Karkotak.

Places

A neighbourhood of a Newar city, each with its own shrines, courtyards and traditions.

Culture

Three horizontal lines of ash on the forehead, worn by devotees of Shiva and Bhairav. Achedya the Lakhe wears it.

Places

The river that runs south from the Gosaikunda lakes through a deep gorge. Its name comes from Shiva's trident, the trishul.

Places

The great open parade ground in the middle of Kathmandu, where Gurumapa is fed.

Beings

Powerful nature spirits who guard the treasures of the earth. Kanakaksha is a yaksha lord; Aman was their mortal champion.