Monday, September 1, 2008

Exclusive Pictures of The Pashupatinath Temple

Pashupatinath is the most sacred temple of Lord Shiva located situated on the shore of the Bagmati river on the eastern part of Kathmandu.Only the Hindus (believers of Hinduism) are allowed to enter the temple whereas the non-Hindus are only allowed to have a look from the other bank of the Bagmati river.The present temple was built by King Bhupalendra Malla in 1653.The temple is of pagoda architecture with gold plated roof, four silver doors and fine quality wood carvings on it.There is a gold plated statue of a large bull (Nandi bull) on the western door of the temple.The deity, Chaturmukhlinga (Linga with four faces) of Pashupatinath is black in color and is 6 feet tall.It is one of the most venerated Lingas in the whole world
Pashupatinath Temple
History:
According to the legend once Lord Shiva got tired of everyone and came to Kathmandu Valley in Slesmantak Forest without telling anybody.Before other gods discovered him,he disguised himself into a one-horned stag to get rid of his duties.And when Lord Vishnu grabbed him by his horn, it broke off ,which then became the Pashupatinath Linga. As time went by, the temple was buried and forgotten for a long period.Later a cow (Kamdhenu cow) was found dropping her milk over a mound .The cow herders dug the spot and found the lost Linga and built the temple again.

Pashupatinath from across the bagmati riverThe view of the whole temple from across the Bagmati River
entrance of pashupatinathThe main entrance of the temple. Only the Hindus can enter the temple whereas the non-hindus are allowed to have a look from this entrance only.
The pashupatinath templeThis is the picture of the main temple.It is a square, two-tiered pagoda temple with such silver doors on all four sides of the temple.The priests of Pashupati temple are called BHATTA.
gold plated Nandi BullThe gold plated statue of the Nandi Bull
ShivalinglamsThis is a temple at another corner which is surrounded by hundreds of Shivalingams

arya ghat The Arya Ghat (cremation ground) on the bank of Holy Bagmati River.
cremation ground in pashupatinathThe cremation pyres on the bank of Bagmati River.The Hindus believe that to be cremated here brings salvation and releases the dead body from the cycle of rebirth and death.
shivalinga shrinesThe votive shrines one behind another which could be seen at once through the first arc.I find this very interesting .
Sadhus
Shiva devotees
sadhus and jogisThe sadhu Babas. With their unique outfit like of Lord Shiva they stay around the temple area all the time.
The only old age home run by the government since many years.We do have other private old age homes too.
Bagmati riverChildren swimming in the Bagmati River.
pashupatinath areaThe Pashupatinath area.The temple has quite a large area .
cows in pashupatinathCows grazing around the Pashupatinath Area
the way to pashupatinathThe way to the temple where people sell flowers ans every necessary items for worshiping .

16 comments:

Nirnit said...

hey broda nice pictures
ani ahile tapai k kathmandu ma ho
ok
tara damizz cha hi picture haru cahhi
jhan aaja janu parne tapai pashupati tepple
aaja ta bhid huncha ni teej ko ghicho

Bikran said...

thanks nirnit .yeah ma ktm ma ho aaile .well teez ko din janchu vanera socheko but ekdam veed huncha vanera agadi nai gayeko .

Chandira said...

Beautiful Temple! That's a beautiful story about the cow and her milk. :-)

It's so nice to read something on line that is positive and about the Divine.

Captain Boondoggle said...

Is that a giant gold cow? Are you f--ing kidding me?

Bikran said...

@ captain -: Its not all gold its just gold plated bull not a cow.

@chandira-: I am glad you liked my pictures.thanx for the comment.

Laurie said...

Some great pictures!

Matthew said...

Looks amazing. Really makes me hope I can make it to Nepal sometime soon (if airfares ever drop a bit).

Bikran said...

@wblmom-: Thank you wblmom

@matthew-:That is amazing . I guess the airfares are a bit cheaper after January.You are most welcome here and i hope Nepal wont disappoint you :).Thanks for your comment mate.

Anonymous said...

bonjour, très jolies photos, je viens de passer un agréable momment, je te souhaite une longue continuation !! à bientôt ..
hello, very pretty photographs, I have just spent a pleasant moment, I wish you a long continuation!! so long... leglaude
http://mesphotos00.free.fr/

Bikran said...

Thanks for the visit and the comment .I visited your blog .Looks unique.All the very best to you.

Lakelandmom said...

Some of these are postcard worthy, you should check that out.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic series of images. Great posts. Love the shots of the old man

Bikran said...

@lakelandmom : thanks for the suggestion .Yeah i would think of it if i could do something like that .Thanks a lot.

@roentarre : Thanks for the visit and comment. yeah the old man looks unique rite.thanks mate .

Anonymous said...

Great interesting posts. The streets look very different from where I live. Great posts.

Unknown said...

Great pictures, loved hearing about the history behind the temple.

Bikran said...

@carol Sisk : thanks for the comment . I m glad you liked my post .