Bhaktapur, Nepal

Bhaktapur, Bhakt- a devotee, pur-- place so, Bhaktapur can be said to be a place of devotees. Pre-dominantly populated by the Newars of Nepal, Bhaktapur is one of the three medieval cities of Nepal. It was founded in the 9th century but flourished under the Malla kingdom. It was the capital of whole of Kathandu till  by 1484 A.D. after the death of Yakshya Malla, the Kathmandu valley  was divided into three independent kingdoms, namely, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Patan. All three places thus have similar architecture of temples around their Durbar square.
The last ruler of Bhaktapur was Ranjit Malla.

It is famous for its juju dhau,see post on, Nepal.

Bhaktapur was heavily damaged in 1934 due to earthquake and has been renovated since then, but you still see restoration of temples going on. Lots needs to be done to preserve the intricate carvings and workmanship, not only here but in all temples in the region.
Bhaktapur is around 45 minutes by road from Kathmandu. The road is bad at places but the beauty of temples compensates for the inconvenience.
As you enter the temple premises, durbar square welcomes you with an array of temples.

Picture taken at entrance

Lions gate:

On the right side, as soon as you enter durbar square, you see this school, which has two majestic lions sitting with 18-armed Ugrachandi (उग्रचण्डी ) which is the fierce form of goddess Parvati and 12-armed Ugrabhairav (उग्रभैरव). Ugra means angry.

Both these figures have weapons in their arms wearing skulls around their neck. It is said that King Bhupatindra was so over whelmed on seeing the statue of Ugrachandi, that he amputated the right hand of the sculptor. But, he undeterred went on to carve an image of Bhairav with his left hand and that too got cut off. He challenged and proceeded to carve with his foot, but sadly that is still not found.

The above picture is entrance to the National Art Museum. It is flanked by two huge lions on either side and behind are Hanumanbhairav and Narsimha. Hanuman and Bhairav together?  Is that a surprise?

Hanumanbhairav                                                                                     Narsimha

If, Hanuman is accepted as an amsha(अंश) or element of Lord Shiv, then there is no confusion because it is switching from one form to another.

Narsingha is half human and half lion incarnation of Vishnu. He has the torso and body of a man but face and paws of a lion. He is considered as a great protector by his devotees.
These statues were erected by King Bhupatindra.

Sundhoka (सुन धोका ):
Sun--- golden, dhoka---gate.
A gilded statue of King Bhupatindra Malla with folded hands in prayer posture stands in front of the golden gate (see above picture).  This golden gate (picture below) is made of gilded copper and is a masterpiece of artwork during that time and is the entrance to Taleju Bhawani temple complex. Taleju is Nepalese name for Goddess Durga. She is a South Indian goddess who has been worshipped in Nepal since the 14th century.

Golden gate Toran of Bhawani Taleju temple

Carved auspicious vessel with leaves is seen on both sides of the door.  I saw another vessel with fresh leaves on either side of door.

Garuda sits on top warding the serpents away

This enlarged view shows beautifully carved 4-faced Devi Taleju Bhawani with 10 arms standing on a lotus. On either sides are Goddess Ganga also called standing on a crocodile and Goddess Yamuna standing on tortoise. Goddess Ganga is also Makarvaahini, meaning riding on a crocodile.

On the side panels can be seen Bhairav, Ganesh, Kali , Kumari

On entering this gate, a black door flanked on two sides by dwarpaals or gatekeeper is seen.

Taleju temple:
One of the most powerful goddess and regarded as the clan or royal goddess of Malla kings who ruled Bhaktapur is Devi Taleju Bhawani. Devi Taleju had been worshipped not only in Bhaktapur but also in Patan, Basantpur as well.  The temple here is the oldest among them.

Entrance to Taleju temple

Torana of temple

The wood etched work on the archway to the entrance to temple is breathtaking.
Bhaktapur's Taleju temple is small in contrast to Taleju temples in other places but its work, especially the golden gate, is considered far more superior and intricate than the ones at Patan and Basantpur.

Earlier, only the ruling kings would visit this temple but now it is open to all Hindus, non-Hindus cannot enter the temple, though the viewing of Devi is only possible once a year during the Navratris or the nine nights of Devi.

This is the famous palace with 55 windows made of carved wood. King Jitamitra Malla started its construction but his son, Bhupatindra completed it.

Naag Pokhari

Naag pokhari or the serpent water basin was the royal bathing area for kings. It has two serpents facing each other and the sides have scale like etching on them giving the appearance of body of snake. The water was supposed to be brought by a conduit from the mountains.

superbly crafted head of Vasuki

Vasuki is the snake god.

goat-head water spout

side view of water spout

Vatsala temple and the big bell:
Once outside on the courtyard of temples, we see a huge Taleju bell, which was rung to pay homage to the Goddess Talejubhawani and also to  inform public of any meetings. The ruler could also be informed in case public had any complaint or grievances.  Next to this a smaller barking bell, so named as it would incite dogs to start barking !

This shikhar style stone temple of Goddess Vatsala catches your eyes as soon as you see it.  It looks similar to the Krishna temple in Patan in architecture. Goddess Vatsala is the terrifying form of goddess Durga. It was built by King Jitamitra Malla in 1696 A.D. The Taleju bell was erected in 1737 by King Jayaranjit Malla which used to be rung twice  a day to let people know about the morning and evening prayers.

The small bell or "barking bell" was placed by King Bhupatindra in 1721

Vatsala temple with bells on either side of entrance

Vatsala temple

Eight-armed Devi

Chyaslin Mandap:

Chyaslin Mandap

This octagonal pagoda styled sturcture was the place from where the nobility would watch the activites on durbar square. It has been reconstructed after the earthquake demolished the whole place. It is situated between Vatsala temple and Siddhilakshmi temple. The palace with 55 windows can be seen behind.  In front of Chyaslin mandap is Dhunge dhara.

Dhunge dhara ( ढूंगे धारा), dhunge is stone and dhara means stream so a "stone stream". The water here, flows continuously through a spout made mostly of stone but maybe metal. The spout usually had a crocodile (makar) as it is the vehicle of Ganga. It used to be known as kriti during the Licchavi era but came to be known as Hiti during the Malla period. These are water sources can still be seen throughout Nepal. I shall paste some more pictures of hiti in my upcoming posts. The water is for private and public use and the purpose was basically to gain merits. What could be more satisfying than quenching the thirst of a traveller?

Siddhilakshmi temple:

Goddess Siddhilakshmi temple

The steep steps to the temple are guarded by a man and woman with a dog, two horses, hippos, lion and camels.  The white temple on the right is Fasidega temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.

side view of Siddhilakshmi temple

Yaksheshwar temple:

Yaksheshwar Mahadeva temple

This temple was built by Yaksha Mala and has been modelled after Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. Nandi sits outside the temple.

Nyatapola or Lakshmi temple:

This is the tallest pagoda style five-storied temple in Kathmandu valley.

Side view of the steps

Nyata means five tiered among the Newars. The steps leading have two meter stone statues of wrestlers called Jaimal and Phattu, a pair each of elephants, lions, beaked griffons and goddesses Singhini and Baghini.  They are arranged in inicreasing order of their strengths. Each figure above is ten times stronger than the one below. The wrestlers were said to have ten times the strength of an ordinary man.

carvings on roof of Nyatapola

All the tiers have beautiful carvings.
Bhairavnath temple:

Bhairavnath temple

Bhairavnath

Bhairavnath has been the clan deity of the Malla kingdom and is still worshipped in this way throughout Nepal.

Char Dhaam:
On the left hand side, as you enter the durbar square are the Chaar dhaam or 4 pilgrim places. They were built by King Yaksha Malla for those people who could not make a journey for finanacial or health reasons.

Gopinath or Jagannath temple

Badrinarayan temple

Rameshwaram temple

Unfortunately, Kedarnath was being renovated and so could not take any picture.

Pottery square:
Bhaktapur has been known for pottery and woodwork.

   pottery square

preparing the clay 

kneading to make it soft and pliable

pottery left to dry in the sun

ready to be sold

Walking down the street of Bhaktapur

My next post is about durbar square in Patan and few temples I visited in Lalitpur, Patan Durbar Square, Nepal