Astrologers fix the exact time. The culmination of the several month long procession of the Rato(red) Machhendranath chariot since it set off from Pulchowk in April, this important Patan festival is designed to ensure a good monsoon for crops. The bejeweled waist coast or Bhoto, supposedly belonging to the serpent king, is displayed at Jawalakhel in the presence of the president. Once every 12 years the chariot is dragged painstakingly all the way to Bungmati.