| | | Pashupatinath Temple
UNESCO World Heritage Site : 1979
Kathmandu (Népal)
| | | | The temple of Pashupatinath is Nepal's most sacred Hindu shrine and lies just 5kilometers east of Kathmandu. | | Pashupatinath Temple : Virtual tour |  | 15 sections and 2 items |
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Pashupatinath Temple : Dock(s) (2)
|  | Arya Ghat of Pashupatinath Temple
The Arya Ghat, immediately below the temple at the foot of a steep flight of steps, was built in the reign of Pratapa Malla. It is reserved for the cremation of royalty. Access is barred to non-Hindus.
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Pashupatinath Temple : Entertainment (1)
Pashupatinath Temple : Events (1)
|  | Cremations on the banks of holy Bagmati river
Pashupatinath on the banks of the Bagmati holy river is the Nepali equivalent of the Varanassi in India - a pilgrimage centre for ritual baths and a popular place to be cremated, in preparation for the next incarnation.
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Pashupatinath Temple : People (1)
|  | Sadhu at Pashupatinath Temple
In Hinduism, sadhu, or shadhu is a common term for a mystic, an ascetic, practitioner of yoga (yogi) and/or wandering monks.
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|  | Bachhareshwari Temple
VIth century
Between the two groups of ghats of the Pashupatinath Temple, on the west bank of the Bagmati is the small, 6th-century Bachhareshwari Temple, decorated with Tantric figures, skeletons and erotic scenes. It is said that human sacrifices were once made at this temple as part of the Maha Shivaratri Festival.
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|  | Gorakhnath Temple
The Gorakhnath Temple, towered with a red and white shikhara, is dedicated to the 11th-century yogi who founded the Shaivite monastic tradition and invented Hatha yoga.
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|  | Guhyeshwari Temple
XVIIth century
The courtyard style Guheswari Temple, also spelled Guhyeshwari or Guhjeshwari Temple is one of the revered holy temple in Kathmandu. It was built by King Pratap Malta in 1653 and dedicated to Parvati (the wife of Shiva) in her terrible manifestation as Kali.
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|  | Lingas
Temples devoted to the Hindu god Shiva often contain in their innermost sanctums a linga, or phallic emblem of this god. While most are plain in appearance, some depict the face of Shiva.
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|  | Pandra Shivalaya
Votive shrines
between 1859 and 1869
Across the Bagmati river is located the Pandra Shivalaya complex (votive shrines), 15 shrines built to enshrine the lingas in memory of deceased important people between 1859 and 1869.
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|  | Pashupatinath Temple
Shiva Temple
near 400 B.C.
Also known as the The Temple of Living Beings, this temple located on the shores of the Bagmati river is an old construction from the 400 AD.
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|  | Shiva shrines
Two footbridges cross the Bagmati in front of the Pashupatinath Temple, entering a garden of stone terraces covered in dozens of small Shiva shrines.
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|  | Vishwarup Temple
The courtyard-style Vishwarup Temple is topped by a Mughal-style onion dome. You can peek through the gates but only Hindus may enter.
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| | Pashupatinath Temple : Visit Guide | |
Get in
The Ring Road, which used to encircle Kathmandu, dips to cross the Bagmati River just west of the airport. On the north side of the road is where the tourist buses stop to let people out to go up and see the complex of Hindu temples at Pashupatinath. | | Pashupatinath Temple : Description | |
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The main temple houses the sacred "linga" (or phallus) of Lord Shiva, the Destroyer. Sections of the temple complex have been renovated and rebuilt after earthquakes, and there have been hundreds of additions over the centuries. Entrance to the central shrine is restricted to Hindus, but you can obtain great views of the complex from the cool and quiet forest paths above the river, themselves leading to secluded shrines. Pashupatinath is also a popular cremation site, and the smoke rising from the temple banks carries a distinct whiff of mortality - grisly but an important cultural tradition.
Temple
Pashupatinath temple (Nepali: पशुपतिनाथको मन्दिर) is one of the biggest Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River in the eastern part of Kathmandu. The temple served as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath, until Nepal was secularized. The temple is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
Believers in Pashupatinath (mainly Hindus) are allowed to enter the temple premises. Anyone not born in Nepal or India is considered a non-Hindu by the temple authorities. Non-Hindu visitors are allowed to have a look at the temple from the other bank of Bagmati river.
It is regarded as the most sacred among the temples of Lord Shiva (Pashupati).
Legend
Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It is not known for certain when Pashupatinath Temple was founded. But according to Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda, one day Lord Shiva grew tired of his palace atop Mont Kailash and so went in search of a place where he could escape to. He discovered Kathmandu Valley and, without telling anyone, he ran away from his palace and came to live in the Valley. He gained great fame there as Pashupati, Lord of the Animals, before the other gods discovered his hiding place and came to fetch him. He disguised himself as a majestic deer and would not help the other gods when they asked for his help. When Shiva did not yield to their pleas, they planned to use force. God Vishnu grabbed him by his horns and they shattered into pieces. Vishnu established a temple and used the broken horns to form a linga on the bank of the Bagmati River. As time went by, the temple was buried and forgotten. Then a cow was known to have secretly sprinkled her milk over the mound. Apparently, when the cow herders dug around the spot, they found the lost lingas and again built a temple in reverence.
Temple architecture
The temple is of pagoda style of architecture. All the features of pagoda style is founded here like cubic constructions, beautifully carved wooden rafters on which they rest (tundal). The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. It has four main doors, all covered with silver sheets. This temple has a gold pinnacle, (Gajur), which is a symbol of religious thought. The western door has a statue of large bull or Nandi, again covered in gold. The deity is of black stone, about 6 feet in height and the same in circumference.
Vasukinath lies to the east of Pashupatinath.
Festivals
Shivaratri
Shivaratri or the night of Lord Shiva is the most important festival celebrated in this temple. Along the shores of the Bagmati river near the temple lies "Arya Ghat", the most widely used place of cremation in Nepal, especially in and around Kathmandu Valley.On the day of Shivaratri thousands of devotes come to this temple. | | Pashupatinath Temple : History | |
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Pashupati (Sanskrit : पशुपति Paśupati), "Lord of cattle", is an epithet of the Hindu god Shiva. In Vedic times it was used as an epithet of Rudra. The Rigveda has the related pashupa "protector of cattle" as a name of Pushan. The Pashupatinath Temple is the most important Hindu shrine for all Hindus in Nepal and also for many Hindus in India and rest of the world.
The name has also been applied to a figure, probably a deity, depicted as sitting among animals, on a seal discovered in the context of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Pashupati seal
A seal discovered during excavation of the Mohenjodaro archaeological site in the Indus Valley has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "yogi" or "proto-Shiva" figure. This "Pashupati" (Lord of Animals, Sanskrit paśupati) seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals. The pose is reminiscent of that of Cernunnos, as found, for example, on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Some observers describe the figure as sitting in a traditional cross-legged yoga pose with its hands resting on its knees.
Imagery
The discoverer of the seal, Sir John Marshall, and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated on a throne in a version of the cross-legged "lotus" posture of Hatha Yoga. The Yogi's penis is erect, with both testicles prominently visible. The precise placement of both heels under the scrotum is an advanced Tantric Yoga technique known as Bandha, meaning knot or "lock". It is normally used to sublimate and redirect sexual energy and can endow the practitioner with spiritual powers.
A large tiger rears upwards by the Yogi's right side, facing him. This is the largest animal on the seal, shown as if intimately connected to the Yogi; the stripes on the tiger's body, also in groups of five, emphasize the connection. Three other smaller animals are depicted on the "Marshall" Shiva seal. It is most likely that all the animals on this seal are totemic or "heraldic" symbols, indicating "tribes", "people" or geographic areas. On the Shiva seal, the tiger, being the largest, represents the Yogi's people, and most likely symbolizes the Himalayan region. The elephant probably represents central and Eastern India, the bull or buffalo South India and the rhinoceros the regions West of the Indus river.
Archaeologist Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, current Co-director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project in Pakistan and Indologist Heinrich Zimmer agree that the 'Pashupati' figure shows a figure in a yoga posture.
Critiques
Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative", saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a yoga posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull. Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying :
- "... there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as pasupati because of his association with cattle; but asceticism and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than kine. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the Harappan figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a bull cult, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance".
Archaeologist Gregory Possehl also disagrees with the Proto-Shiva theory, but contends that "the posture of the deity...is a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga." Possehl also states that this view :
- "... is supported by several other yogi images in the corpus of Mature Harappan materials....These diverse images suggest that the Indus pose of ritual discipline was used in more than one way and that their buffalo god did not have exclusive access to it. Taken as a whole, it appears that the pose may have been used by deities and humans alike....This presents an interesting possibility: Some of the Harrapans were devoted to ritual discipline and concentration, and this was one of the preoccupations of at least one of their gods".
The temple
The temple was first established in the 17th century. The priests who perform the services at this temple have been Bhat-Brahmins from South India (Karnataka) origin since last 350 years. The priests of Pashaputinath are called Bhattas and the chief priest is called Mool Bhatt or Raval. The chief priest is answerable only to the King of Nepal and reports to him on temple matters on a periodic basis.
This tradition is supposed to have started by the request of Adi Shankaracharya who sought to unify the different states of Bharatam (Unified India) by encouraging cultural exchange. The unique feature of this temple is that only four priests can touch the idol. This tradition is supposed to have started by Sage Shankaracharya in 17th century, ostensibly to stop human sacrifice which was prevalent in that temple. This procedure is also followed in other temples around India which were sanctified by Adi Shankaracharya. Malla kings honoured the request of Adi shankarachaya as latter being one of the greatest ever Hindu acharyas.
However,this tradition was recently changed after the historic revolution in Nepal which demolished the monarchy and established democracy where Nepalese priests supported by the anti- Indian Maoists government.There was widespread protests by most Nepalese as they saw this as an intereference in their religion.
Controversy of 2009
The priests are called Bhattas and the Chief Priest is known as Mool Bhatt or Raval. The chief priests of temple have been Brahmins from South India since Malla era. This, along with the alleged corruption within temple had been an issue among Nepalese people.
In January 2009, after the forced resignation by the chief priest of Pashupatinath temple, the Maoist-led government of Nepal "hand picked" Nepalese priest to the temple, thus bypassing the temple's long-standing requirements. This appointment was contested by the Bhandaris of the temple, stating that they were not against the appointment of Nepalese priests but against the appointment without proper procedure. After the appointment was challenged in the court of laws, the appointment was overruled by Supreme Court of Nepal. However, the government did not heed the ruling and continued with its decision. This led to a public outrage and protests over lack of transparency. The paramilitary group of CPN (Maoist), called YCL, attacked the protesters leading to over a dozen injuries. Lawmakers and party activists of the opposition parties joined protests and stated that their support were with the Bhandaris and other protesters.
However, after long dissatisfaction and protest of Hindus both inside and outside Nepal, the government reverted its decision and reinstated Indian priests.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashupatinath_Temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashupati
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License | | Pashupatinath Temple : More pictures | |
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 | Pashupatinath Cremation
Along the shores of the Bagmati river near the temple lies "Arya Ghat", the most widely used place of cremation for the deceased in Nepal, especially in and around the Kathmandu valley. |
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