Pashupatinatha

I am amazed at the number of beautiful temples in Nepal. There are so many temples that I can keep on endlessly writing about them.

Two famous temples I visited were Pashupatinatha and Budhaneelkantha. Pashupatinatha is a Shiva temple whereas Vishnu is worshipped at Buddhaneelkantha.

Pashupatinatha in Deopatan along Bagamati river is a Shiva temple very much revered not only by people of Nepal but also by Hindus of its neighboring country, India. You can see busloads of people coming across the border to pay homage at this two tiered pagoda styled temple.

If we understand the word Pashupatinatha, Pashu- animal, Pati- master, Nath- god. So, master of animals. So, does it mean that he is master of animals?

One legend says that Lord Shiva fled from Varanasi in India to Mrigsthali (place of deer) across Bagmati in Nepal. Here, he took the form of deer and started living a peaceful life. When Lord Vishnu came to know his whereabouts, he tried to bring Lord Shiva back. Shiva in the form of deer leapt across the river Bagmati breaking his horn into four pieces. Shiva manifested himself into a Chaturmukh (four faced) lingam. Thus the word Pashupatinath.

Another interpretation can be that we humans have many animal instincts inside us and Shiva is our master who is going to help us tame those instincts. So, he is the master of animal which reside within us.

It is not known as to when the temple was built. The original temple was destroyed many times by earthquake.  The existing one was built by King Bhupalendra Malla in 1697.

The above picture gives an idea about the main sanctum. The four silver gilded doors open during the prayer ceremony (aarti). You see people paying homage from outside. Inside, is the three and half feet tall four faced Shivlinga which is covered with flowers.  A huge silver canopy on top makes it more beautiful.

Entrance to temple

The entrance has Lord Ganesha on the left side and Kartikeya or Murugan on the right. Ganesha and Kartikeya are offsprings of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati.
You see a huge Nandi, the favorite mount and devotee of Shiv, facing the sanctum. No one is permitted to photograph once inside the temple. Also, entry is only for the Hindus.

Bagmati river

 It is customary among the Hindus to burn the body after its demise. This is the Bagmati river and is very sacred to the Hindus in Nepal. So, after the final rites, the body is burnt on a pyre along this river. When I photographed, the last rites of a funeral had just been completed.

On the North-east side of sanctum is the temple of Vasuki. Vasuki is the King of Naag (snakes). He has the body of a human from waist upwards but waist down, he has the body of snake. Vasuki decided to stay here to protect Pashupati.

On the South-east, is the Unmatta Bhairav (उन्मत्त भैरव) temple.
On the South-west, is the Kottilingeshwar temple (कोटिलिंगेश्वर). This place is an open temple and has small walls forming a zig- zag lanes with 1000 Shivlings on both sides of the wall. You keep on praying as you walk through.

getting ready for evening arti of river Bagmati

Once this arti gets over then arti at the main temple begins.

Guheshwari(गुह्येश्वरी):
Also known as Guheshwari or Gujeshwari, this temple is very small and about five minutes drive from Pashupatinatha along Bagmati. It can easily go unnoticed. The temple is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths. Non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the temple nor is photography permitted once inside.

Let me give you a small account as to what a Shakti Peeth is. Lord Shiva's wife, Devi Sati, went to her father's house and felt humiliated that her husband was not invited to a huge ceremony there. She jumped into the holy fire and immolated herself. Shiva on knowing about this became very angry. He carried his wife's body in anger and  remorse. He started his Taandav, the dance of destruction. Shiva could have been calmed only after  separation from his wife's lifeless body. Vishnu had to take Shiva out of this situation so he used his Sudarshan Chakra (disc) to split the body into pieces. The body fell into 108 places known as Shaktipeeths. 51 Shaktipeeths are said to be the more important ones.

Guhyeshwari is one of these 51 Shaktipeeths. Guhya means secretive, unknown and ehwari is goddess. So a goddess who wants to remain incognito. Devi Satis's private parts fell here.

As you climb up the stairs, you see many small rooms in front of you and a silver sheathed temple in the center. The sanctum is not visible at all, you need to descend some stairs and a very small room with a lump of rock is seen in the center. The room is small and accommodate not more than 5-6 people at a time. There is a small hole in which the priestess dips her hands and puts the holy water on your head. There is just very little place to circumambulate the goddess.

After this, we make our journey to Budhaneelkantha.